Xiaoyu Luo

A numerical simulation of unsteady flow in a two-dimensional collapsible channel

The collapse of a compressed elastic tube conveying a flow occurs in several physiological applications and has become a problem of considerable interest. Laboratory experiments on a finite length of collapsible tube reveal a rich variety of self-excited oscillations, indicating that the system is a complex, nonlinear dynamical system. Following our previous study on steady flow in a two-dimensional model of the collapsible tube problem (Luo & Pedley 1995), we here investigate the instability of the steady solution, and details of the resulting oscillations when it is unstable, by studying the time-dependent problem. For this purpose, we have developed a time-dependent simulation of the coupled flow – membrane problem, using the Spine method to treat the moving boundary and a second-order time integration scheme with variable time increments. It is found that the steady solutions become unstable as tension falls below a certain value, say T u , which decreases as the Reynolds number increases. As a consequence, steady flow gives way to self-excited oscillations, which become increasingly complicated as tension is decreased from T u . A sequence of bifurcations going through regular oscillations to irregular oscillations is found, showing some interesting dynamic features similar to those observed in experiments. In addition, vorticity waves are found downstream of the elastic section, with associated recirculating eddies which sometimes split into two. These are similar to the vorticity waves found previously for flow past prescribed, time-dependent indentations. It is speculated that the mechanism of the oscillation is crucially dependent on the details of energy dissipation and flow separation at the indentation. As tension is reduced even further, the membrane is sucked underneath the downstream rigid wall and, although this causes the numerical scheme to break down, it in fact agrees with another experimental observation for flow in thin tubes.

A nonlinear anisotropic model for porcine aortic heart valves

The anisotropic property of porcine aortic valve leaflet has potentially significant effects on its mechanical behaviour and the failure mechanisms. However, due to its complex nature, testing and modelling the anisotropic porcine aortic valves remains a continuing challenge to date. This study has developed a nonlinear anisotropic finite element model for porcine heart valves. The model is based on the uniaxial experimental data of porcine aortic heart valve leaflet and the properties of nonlinear composite material. A finite element code is developed to solve this problem using the 8-node super-parameter nonlinear shells and the update Lagrangian method. The stress distribution and deformation of the porcine aortic valves with either uniform and non-uniform thicknesses in closed phase and loaded condition are calculated. The results showed significant changes in the stress distributions due to the anisotropic property of the leaflets. Compared with the isotropic valve at the same loading condition, it is found that the site of the peak stress of the anisotropic leaflet is different; the maximum longitudinal normal stress is increased, but the maximum transversal normal stress and in-plane shear stress are reduced. We conclude that it is very important to consider the anisotropic property of the porcine heart valves in order to understand the failure mechanism of such valves in vivo.

SIMULATING THE FLUID DYNAMICS OF NATURAL AND PROSTHETIC HEART VALVES USING THE IMMERSED BOUNDARY METHOD

The immersed boundary method is both a general mathematical framework and a particular numerical approach to problems of fluid-structure interaction. In the present work, we describe the application of the immersed boundary method to the simulation of the fluid dynamics of heart valves, including a model of a natural aortic valve and a model of a chorded prosthetic mitral valve. Each valve is mounted in a semi-rigid flow chamber. In the case of the mitral valve, the flow chamber is a circular pipe, and in the case of the aortic valve, the flow chamber is a model of the aortic root. The model valves and flow chambers are immersed in a viscous incompressible fluid, and realistic fluid boundary conditions are prescribed at the upstream and downstream ends of the chambers. To connect the immersed boundary models to the boundaries of the fluid domain, we introduce a novel modification of the standard immersed boundary scheme. In particular, near the outer boundaries of the fluid domain, we modify the construction of the regularized delta function which mediates fluid-structure coupling in the immersed boundary method, whereas in the interior of the fluid domain, we employ a standard four-point delta function which is frequently used with the immersed boundary method. The standard delta function is used wherever possible, and the modified delta function continuously transitions to the standard delta function away from the outer boundaries of the fluid domain. Three-dimensional computational results are presented to demonstrate the capabilities of our immersed boundary approach to simulating the fluid dynamics of heart valves.

The effects of wall inertia on flow in a two-dimensional collapsible channel

The effect of wall inertia on the self-excited oscillations in a collapsible channel flow is investigated by solving the full coupled two-dimensional membrane–flow equations. This is the continuation of a previous study in which self-excited oscillations were predicted in an asymmetric channel with a tensioned massless elastic membrane (Luo & Pedley 1996). It is found that a different type of self-excited oscillation, a form of flutter, is superposed on the original large-amplitude, low-frequency oscillations. Unlike the tension-induced oscillations, the flutter has high frequency, and grows with time from a small amplitude until it dominates the original slower mode. The critical value of tension below which oscillations arise (at fixed Reynolds number) is found to increase as the wall inertia is increased. The rate at which energy is ( a ) dissipated in the flow field and ( b ) transferred to the wall during the flutter is discussed, and results at different parameter values are compared with those of a massless membrane. There is also a discussion of whether the onset of flutter, or that of the slower oscillations, is correlated with the appearance of flow limitation, as is thought to be the case in the context of wheezing during forced expiration of air from the lungs.

Multiple solutions and flow limitation in collapsible channel flows

Steady and unsteady numerical simulations of two-dimensional flow in a collapsible channel were carried out to study the flow limitation which typically occurs when the upstream transmural pressure is held constant while flow rate and pressure gradient along the collapsible channel can vary independently. Multiple steady solutions are found for a range of upstream transmural pressures and Reynolds number using an arclength control method. The stability of these steady solutions is tested in order to check the correlation between flow limitation and self-excited oscillations (the latter being a consequence of unstable steady solutions). Both stable and unstable solutions are found when flow is limited. Self-excited oscillations and divergence instabilities are observed in certain solution branches. The instability of the steady solutions seems to depend on the unsteady boundary conditions used, i.e. on which parameters are allowed to vary. However, steady solutions associated with the solution branch before flow limitation where the membrane wall bulges are found to be stable for each of the three different boundary conditions employed. We conclude that there is no one to one correlation between the two phenomena in this two dimensional channel model.

Structure-based finite strain modelling of the human left ventricle in diastole

Finite strain analyses of the left ventricle provide important information on heart function and have the potential to provide insights into the biomechanics of myocardial contractility in health and disease. Systolic dysfunction is the most common cause of heart failure; however, abnormalities of diastolic function also contribute to heart failure, and are associated with conditions including left ventricular hypertrophy and diabetes. The clinical significance of diastolic abnormalities is less well understood than systolic dysfunction, and specific treatments are presently lacking. To obtain qualitative and quantitative information on heart function in diastole, we develop a three-dimensional computational model of the human left ventricle that is derived from noninvasive imaging data. This anatomically realistic model has a rule-based fibre structure and a structure-based constitutive model. We investigate the sensitivity of this comprehensive model to small changes in the constitutive parameters and to changes in the fibre distribution. We make extensive comparisons between this model and similar models that employ different constitutive models, and we demonstrate qualitative and quantitative differences in stress and strain distributions for the different constitutive models. We also provide an initial validation of our model through comparisons to experimental data on stress and strain distributions in the left ventricle.

The cascade structure of linear instability in collapsible channel flows

This paper studies the unsteady behaviour and linear stability of the flow in a collapsible channel using a fluid–beam model. The solid mechanics is analysed in a plane strain configuration, in which the principal stretch is defined with a zero initial strain. Two approaches are employed: unsteady numerical simulations solving the nonlinear fully coupled fluid–structure interaction problem; and the corresponding linearized eigenvalue approach solving the Orr–Sommerfeld equations modified by the beam. The two approaches give good agreement with each other in predicting the frequencies and growth rates of the perturbation modes, close to the neutral curves. For a given Reynolds number in the range of 200–600, a cascade of instabilities is discovered as the wall stiffness (or effective tension) is reduced. Under small perturbation to steady solutions for the same Reynolds number, the system loses stability by passing through a succession of unstable zones, with mode number increasing as the wall stiffness is decreased. It is found that this cascade structure can, in principle, be extended to many modes, depending on the parameters. A puzzling ‘tongue’ shaped stable zone in the wall stiffness– Re space turns out to be the zone sandwiched by the mode-2 and mode-3 instabilities. Self-excited oscillations dominated by modes 2–4 are found near their corresponding neutral curves. These modes can also interact and form period-doubling oscillations. Extensive comparisons of the results with existing analytical models are made, and a physical explanation for the cascade structure is proposed.

A modified Holzapfel-Ogden law for a residually stressed finite strain model of the human left ventricle in diastole

In this work, we introduce a modified Holzapfel-Ogden hyperelastic constitutive model for ventricular myocardium that accounts for residual stresses, and we investigate the effects of residual stresses in diastole using a magnetic resonance imaging–derived model of the human left ventricle (LV). We adopt an invariant-based constitutive modelling approach and treat the left ventricular myocardium as a non-homogeneous, fibre-reinforced, incompressible material. Because in vivo images provide the configuration of the LV in a loaded state even in diastole, an inverse analysis is used to determine the corresponding unloaded reference configuration. The residual stress in this unloaded state is estimated by two different methods. One is based on three-dimensional strain measurements in a local region of the canine LV, and the other uses the opening angle method for a cylindrical tube. We find that including residual stress in the model changes the stress distributions across the myocardium and that whereas both methods yield qualitatively similar changes, there are quantitative differences between the two approaches. Although the effects of residual stresses are relatively small in diastole, the model can be extended to explore the full impact of residual stress on LV mechanical behaviour for the whole cardiac cycle as more experimental data become available. In addition, although not considered here, residual stresses may also play a larger role in models that account for tissue growth and remodelling.

Geometrical Stress-Reducing Factors in the Anisotropic Porcine Heart Valves

This study carries out a detailed parameter study based on a nonlinear anisotropic finite-element model published previously. The aim of this study is to identify the stress-reducing influences from geometrical parameters such as stent height, valve diameter, and the nonuniform thickness of porcine aortic valves under static loading condition. The anisotropy of the valve is considered to be transversely isotropic with fibers oriented along the circumferential directions, which enables us to use a simple anisotropic constitutive model using uniaxial experimental data. The results showed that in general, higher stent height and smaller diameter combined with nonuniform thickness give rise to a much more reduced overall stress level. Although the absolute values of the peak stresses may be influenced by the detailed orientations of fibers, the trends of the stress variation with the geometrical factors seem to be qualitatively consistent within the parameter ranges considered.

A fluid–beam model for flow in a collapsible channel

This paper proposes a fluid–beam model to overcome the shortcomings of the previous fluid–membrane models on flowin collapsible channels of Luo and Pedley. The newmodel employs a plane strained elastic beam w ith large deflection and incrementally linear extension. This model gives a more realistic and general description of the problem and reduces to several simpler models including the fluid–membrane model under special parameter ranges. Both numerical and asymptotic approaches are used to study the problem. A finite element code is developed to solve the coupled nonlinear fluid–structure interactive equations simultaneously, and a moving mesh with rotating spines is used to enable a movable boundary. It is found that as the wall stiffness approaches to zero, the fluid and the beam equations at the corners where the beam joins the rigid wall are decoupled, and that asymptotic solutions exist both for the beam, and the floww hich is dominated by the Stokes floweven for Reynolds number of Oð10 3 Þ: The numerical code is validated in several different ways, and compared with the asymptotic solution at the corners. It is found that the numerical grid size has to satisfy certain conditions to resolve the boundary layers properly near the corners, especially for the smaller values of the wall stiffness. The results of the new model compare favourably with those of the fluid– membrane model for very small wall stiffness. However, different results are obtained if the wall stiffness is chosen to be applicable either to rubbers with wall thickness ratio greater than 0.01, or those of veins in the physiological range of wall thickness ratios. This model therefore provides a more realistic description to flow in collapsible channels. r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.