Numerical Simulation of Magnetohydrodynamic Influences on Casson Model for Blood Flow through an Overlapping Stenosed Artery

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects of unsteady blood flow on Casson fluid through an artery with overlapping stenosis were investigated. The nonlinear governing equations accompanied by the appropriate boundary conditions were discretized and solved based on a finite difference technique, using the pressure correction method with MAC algorithm. Moreover, blood flow characteristics, such as the velocity profile, pressure drop, wall shear stress, and patterns of streamlines, are presented graphically and inspected thoroughly for understanding the blood flow phenomena in the stenosed artery.

A Numerical Analysis of Pressure Pulsation Characteristics Induced by Unsteady Blood Flow in a Bileaflet Mechanical Heart Valve

The leaflet vibration phenomenon in bileaflet mechanical heart valves (BMHVs) can cause complications such as hemolysis, leaflet damage, and valve fracture. One of the main reasons for leaflet vibration is the unsteady blood flow pressure pulsation induced by turbulent flow instabilities. In this study, we performed numerical simulations of unsteady flow through a BMHV and observed pressure pulsation characteristics under different flow rates and leaflet fully opening angle conditions. The pressure pulsation coefficient and the low-Reynolds k-ω model in CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software were employed to solve these problems. Results showed that the level of pressure pulsation was highly influenced by velocity distribution, and that the higher coefficient of pressure pulsation was associated with the lower flow velocity along the main flow direction. The influence of pressure pulsation near the trailing edges was much larger than the data obtained near the leading edges of the leaflets. In addition, considering the level of pressure pulsation and the flow uniformity, the recommended setting of leaflet fully opening angle was about 80°.