Flow patterns in an ascending aortic aneurysm

Description

Hemolysis and thrombosis have been linked with non-physiological hemodynamics. The regions of retrograde and recirculating flows and high shear zones are potential risk zones for red blood cell destruction and platelet deformation. Trauma of the red blood cells results in different cardiovascular diseases as a consequence of several abnormalities in the blood flow. An aneurysm is believed to be a degenerative process, resulting from complex interplay between biological processes in the walls of the artery and the hemodynamical response on the walls of the vessel (Lasheras, 2007). For early diagnosis, it is crucial to asses the flow patterns i.e. vorticity and strain fields.

A non-intrusive measurement techique, 3D-PTV, will be applied to the aortic phantom. 3D-PTV has been in use for several decades as a flow measurement technique. It allows to access particle trajectories, velocity fluctuations and velocity derivative simultaneously.

Objectives of the project

The goal of this project is to investigate the flow pattern in an in-vitro model for an ascending aortic aneurysm. It is aimed to assess both Eulerian and Lagrangian statistics of the flow. Up to date, Lagrangian analysis of a pulsatile and aortic flow in an aneurysm model has never been performed in the literature. With the recent medial imaging techniques, it is not possible to access instantaneous flow patterns. However, it is now possible to obtain Lagrangian statistics by means of Three-Dimensional Particle Tracking Velocimetry (3D-PTV). The results obtained from this project will be a good test case for the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) groups. The project will also provide instructive results for the medical community.