scholarly journals Fluid-Structure Interaction Modeling of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: The Impact of Patient-Specific Inflow Conditions and Fluid/Solid Coupling

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Santanu Chandra ◽  
Samarth S. Raut ◽  
Anirban Jana ◽  
Robert W. Biederman ◽  
Mark Doyle ◽  
...  

Rupture risk assessment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) by means of biomechanical analysis is a viable alternative to the traditional clinical practice of using a critical diameter for recommending elective repair. However, an accurate prediction of biomechanical parameters, such as mechanical stress, strain, and shear stress, is possible if the AAA models and boundary conditions are truly patient specific. In this work, we present a complete fluid-structure interaction (FSI) framework for patient-specific AAA passive mechanics assessment that utilizes individualized inflow and outflow boundary conditions. The purpose of the study is two-fold: (1) to develop a novel semiautomated methodology that derives velocity components from phase-contrast magnetic resonance images (PC-MRI) in the infrarenal aorta and successfully apply it as an inflow boundary condition for a patient-specific fully coupled FSI analysis and (2) to apply a one-way–coupled FSI analysis and test its efficiency compared to transient computational solid stress and fully coupled FSI analyses for the estimation of AAA biomechanical parameters. For a fully coupled FSI simulation, our results indicate that an inlet velocity profile modeled with three patient-specific velocity components and a velocity profile modeled with only the axial velocity component yield nearly identical maximum principal stress (σ1), maximum principal strain (ε1), and wall shear stress (WSS) distributions. An inlet Womersley velocity profile leads to a 5% difference in peak σ1, 3% in peak ε1, and 14% in peak WSS compared to the three-component inlet velocity profile in the fully coupled FSI analysis. The peak wall stress and strain were found to be in phase with the systolic inlet flow rate, therefore indicating the necessity to capture the patient-specific hemodynamics by means of FSI modeling. The proposed one-way–coupled FSI approach showed potential for reasonably accurate biomechanical assessment with less computational effort, leading to differences in peak σ1, ε1, and WSS of 14%, 4%, and 18%, respectively, compared to the axial component inlet velocity profile in the fully coupled FSI analysis. The transient computational solid stress approach yielded significantly higher differences in these parameters and is not recommended for accurate assessment of AAA wall passive mechanics. This work demonstrates the influence of the flow dynamics resulting from patient-specific inflow boundary conditions on AAA biomechanical assessment and describes methods to evaluate it through fully coupled and one-way–coupled fluid-structure interaction analysis.

Author(s):  
Christine M. Scotti ◽  
Ender A. Finol

Primary among the mechanical factors linked with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture is peak wall stress, frequently quantified as either the maximum principal or Von Mises stress exerted along the diseased arterial wall. Intraluminal pressure, as an impinging normal force on the wall, has been hypothesized as the dominant influence on this stress and thus the majority of numerical modeling studies of AAA mechanics have focused on static computational solid stress (CSS) predictions [1,2]. Unfortunately, retrospective studies comparing the magnitude of wall stress with the failure strength of the aneurysmal wall have yet to consistently predict the outcome for patient-specific AAAs [3,4]. Previous studies have shown that hemodynamics also plays a significant role in both the biological and mechanical factors that exist within AAAs. In the present investigation, partially and fully coupled fluid-structure interaction (p-FSI and f-FSI, respectively) computations of patient-specific AAA models are presented and compared to identify the effect of fluid flow in the biomechanical environment of these aneurysms.


Author(s):  
Michalis Xenos ◽  
Suraj Rambhia ◽  
Yared Alemu ◽  
Shmuel Einav ◽  
John J. Ricotta ◽  
...  

Fluid structure interaction (FSI) simulations were conducted to assess the risk of rupture in reconstructed AAA from patients who had contained ruptured AAAs. The goal was to test to ability of our FSI methodology to predict the location of rupture, by correlating the high wall stress regions with the actual rupture location. We also present a parametric study in which the relationship of iliac bifurcation angle and the role of embedded calcifications were studied in respect to the aneurismal wall stress. The patient specific AAA FSI simulations were carried out with advanced constitutive material models of the various components of AAA, including models that describe the wall anisotropy, structural strength based on collagen fibers orientation within the arterial wall, AAA intraluminal thrombus (ILT), and embedded calcifications. The anisotropic material model used to describe the wall properties closely correlated with experimental results of AAA specimens [1]. The results demonstrate that the region of rupture can be predicted by the region of the highest wall stress distribution. Embedded wall calcifications increase the local wall stress surrounding calcified spots, and eventually increases the risk of rupture. FSI results in streamlined AAA geometries show that the maximum stress on the aneurismal wall increases as the iliac bifurcation angle increases.


Fluids ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yorgos Stergiou ◽  
Athanasios Kanaris ◽  
Aikaterini Mouza ◽  
Spiros Paras

The Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) is a local dilation of the abdominal aorta and it is a cause for serious concern because of the high mortality associated with its rupture. Consequently, the understanding of the phenomena related to the creation and the progression of an AAA is of crucial importance. In this work, the complicated interaction between the blood flow and the AAA wall is numerically examined using a fully coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) method. The study investigates the possible link between the dynamic behavior of an AAA and the blood viscosity variations attributed to the haematocrit value, while it also incorporates the pulsatile blood flow, the non-Newtonian behavior of blood and the hyperelasticity of the arterial wall. It was found that blood viscosity has no significant effect on von Mises stress magnitude and distribution, whereas there is a close relation between the haematocrit value and the Wall Shear Stress (WSS) magnitude in AAAs. This WSS variation can possibly alter the mechanical properties of the arterial wall and increase its growth rate or even its rupture possibility. The relationship between haematocrit and dynamic behavior of an AAA can be helpful in designing a patient specific treatment.


Author(s):  
Yorgos G. Stergiou ◽  
Athanasios G. Kanaris ◽  
Aikaterini A. Mouza ◽  
Spiros V. Paras

The Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) is a local dilation of the abdominal aorta and it is a cause for serious concern because of the high mortality associated with its rupture. Consequently, the understanding of the phenomena related to the creation and the progression of an AAA is of crucial importance. In this work the complicated interaction between the blood flow and the AAA wall is numerically examined using a fully coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) method. The study investigates the possible link between the dynamic behaviour of an AAA and the blood viscosity variations attributed to the haematocrit value, while it also incorporates the pulsatile blood flow, the non-Newtonian behaviour of blood and the hyperelasticity of the arterial wall. It was found that blood viscosity has no significant effect on von Mises stress magnitude and distribution, whereas there is a close relation between the haematocrit value and the Wall Shear Stress (WSS) magnitude in AAAs. This WSS variation can possibly alter the mechanical properties of the arterial wall and increase its growth rate or even its rupture possibility. The relationship between haematocrit and dynamic behaviour of an AAA can be helpful in designing a patient specific treatment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
TONGRAN QIN ◽  
Andres Caballero ◽  
Wenbin Mao ◽  
Brian Barrett ◽  
Norihiko Kamioka ◽  
...  

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), the most common congenital heart disease, is prone to develop significant valvular dysfunction and aortic wall abnormalities. Growing evidence has suggested that abnormal BAV hemodynamics could contribute to the disease progression. In order to investigate the BAV hemodynamic, we performed 3D patient-specific fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations of BAV with fully coupled flow dynamics and valve motions throughout the cardiac cycle. The results showed that the flow during systole can be characterized by a systolic jet and two counter-rotating recirculation vortices. At peak systole, the jet was usually eccentric, with asymmetric recirculation vortices, and helical flow motion in the ascending aorta. The flow structure at peak systole was quantified using the vorticity, flow reversal ratio and helicity index at four locations from the aortic root to the ascending aorta. The systolic jet was evaluated using the metrics including the peak velocity, normalized flow displacement, and jet angle. It was found that both the peak velocity and normalized flow displacement (rather than jet angle) of the systolic jet showed a strong correlation with the vorticity and helicity index of the flow in the ascending aorta, which suggests that these two metrics can be used for noninvasive evaluation of abnormal flow patterns in BAV patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith H. C. Fonken ◽  
Esther J. Maas ◽  
Arjet H. M. Nievergeld ◽  
Marc R. H. M. van Sambeek ◽  
Frans N. van de Vosse ◽  
...  

Currently, the prediction of rupture risk in abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) solely relies on maximum diameter. However, wall mechanics and hemodynamics have shown to provide better risk indicators. Patient-specific fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations based on a non-invasive image modality are required to establish a patient-specific risk indicator. In this study, a robust framework to execute FSI simulations based on time-resolved three-dimensional ultrasound (3D+t US) data was obtained and employed on a data set of 30 AAA patients. Furthermore, the effect of including a pre-stress estimation (PSE) to obtain the stresses present in the measured geometry was evaluated. The established workflow uses the patient-specific 3D+t US-based segmentation and brachial blood pressure as input to generate meshes and boundary conditions for the FSI simulations. The 3D+t US-based FSI framework was successfully employed on an extensive set of AAA patient data. Omitting the pre-stress results in increased displacements, decreased wall stresses, and deviating time-averaged wall shear stress and oscillatory shear index patterns. These results underline the importance of incorporating pre-stress in FSI simulations. After validation, the presented framework provides an important tool for personalized modeling and longitudinal studies on AAA growth and rupture risk.


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