A complete LPM-CFD Coupling on a Dummy Aortic Model

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has become a widely used method for solving complex fluid problems. However, it is still evolving in the field of biomedical engineering. The reason why the CFD method in the biomedical field lags behind other engineering fields is the complex structure of the flows in the human body. Apart from CFD analyses, using lumped parameter models (LPM), flows and pressures in the human circulation can be simulated in a computer environment by mimicking electrical analog circuits. The flows and geometries in the relevant cardiovascular structures have been solved in the CFD environment by adding LPM codes as the boundary conditions (BC). The areas where this technique has been used in the last decade can be listed as congenital heart diseases, heart failure, ventricular function, aortic diseases and modeling of diseases in the brain vessels. However, studies that analyze a full and comprehensive human circulation, are based on simplified models and are very limited in the applications of this still developing multidimensional model (LPM-CFD) technique. Therefore, this study demonstrates a complete two-way LPM-CFD coupling with a dummy aortic segment solved in CFD. This solution is coupled with a traditional LPM exchanging data at every time step of solution. Results demonstrate a good agreement with the traditional CFD technique. The methodology provides a basis for the development of many new cardiovascular devices.