Influence of Blood Rheology and Turbulence Models in the Numerical Simulation of Aneurysms

Abstract

An aneurysm is a vascular malformation that can be classified according to its location (cerebral, aortic) or shape (saccular, fusiform, and mycotic). Recently, the study of blood flow interaction with aneurysms has gained attention from physicians and engineers. Shear stresses, oscillatory shear index (OSI), gradient oscillatory number (GON), and residence time have been used as variables to describe the hemodynamics as well as the origin and evolution of aneurysms. However, the causes and hemodynamic conditions that promote their growth are still under debate. The present work presents numerical simulations of three types of aneurysms: two aortic and one cerebral. Simulation results showed that the blood rheology is not relevant for aortic aneurysms. However, for the cerebral aneurysm case, blood rheology could play a relevant role in the hemodynamics. The evaluated turbulence models showed equivalent results in both cases. Lastly, a simulation considering the fluid–structure interaction (FSI) showed that this phenomenon is the dominant factor for aneurysm simulation.

Keywords

• aneurysm
• CFD
• blood flow
• turbulence model
• rheology