Title: Application of a strong FSI coupling scheme for the numerical simulation of bileaflet mechanical heart valve dynamics: study of wall shear stress on the valve leaflets

Authors: Sebastiaan Annerel; Joris Degroote; Jan Vierendeels; Tom Claessens; Peter Van Ransbeeck; Sigrid K. Dahl; Bjørn Skallerud; Leif Rune Hellevik; Patrick Segers; Pascal Verdonck

Addresses: Department of Flow, Heat and Combustion Mechanics, Ghent University (UGent), 9000 Ghent, Belgium ' Department of Flow, Heat and Combustion Mechanics, Ghent University (UGent), 9000 Ghent, Belgium ' Department of Flow, Heat and Combustion Mechanics, Ghent University (UGent), 9000 Ghent, Belgium ' Department of Mechanics, University College Ghent, 9000 Ghent, Belgium ' Department of Mechanics, University College Ghent, 9000 Ghent, Belgium ' Department of Structural Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway ' Department of Structural Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway ' Department of Structural Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway ' IBiTech-bioMMeda, Ghent University (UGent), 9000 Ghent, Belgium ' IBiTech-bioMMeda, Ghent University (UGent), 9000 Ghent, Belgium

Abstract: One of the major challenges in the design of Bileaflet Mechanical Heart Valves (BMHVs) is reduction of the blood damage generated by non-physiological blood flow. Numerical simulations provide relevant insights into the (fluid) dynamics of the BMHV and are used for design optimisation. In this paper, a strong coupling algorithm for the partitioned Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) simulation of a BMHV is presented. The convergence of the coupling iterations between the flow solver and the leaflet motion solver is accelerated by using a numerically calculated Jacobian with the derivatives of the pressure and viscous moments acting on the leaflets with respect to the leaflet accelerations. The developed algorithm is used to simulate the dynamics of a 3D BMHV in three different geometries, allowing an analysis of the solution process. Moreover, the leaflet kinematics and the general flow field are discussed, with special focus on the shear stresses on the valve leaflets.

Keywords: FSI; fluid-structure interaction; strong coupling algorithm; BMHV; bileaflet mechanical heart valves; biomedical applications; numerical simulation; heart valve dynamics; wall shear stress; valve leaflets; blood damage; non-physiological blood flow; leaflet kinematics; flow field.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2012.047450

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2012 Vol.12 No.2/3, pp.68 - 79

Published online: 25 Nov 2014 *

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