When fat builds up in the aorta, it creates a dangerous condition called atherosclerosis. The aorta is the body’s main blood highway, so this blockage is a serious problem. This fat deposition, or plaque, makes the artery narrow and stiff. This narrowing is called a stenosis. As a result, the heart must work much harder to pump blood. A Fat Deposition on Aorta Flow CFD simulation is a powerful tool for doctors and engineers. It helps us see exactly how the blood flow (hemodynamics) changes inside a diseased artery. By studying these changes, like Wall Shear Stress (WSS) and pressure, a Effect Of Fat Deposition on Aorta Flow Fluent analysis can help predict the risk of heart attacks or strokes. This CFD study is based on methods from trusted scientific papers [1].

• Reference [1]: Moretti, Simona, et al. “Comparative analysis of patient-specific aortic dissections through computational fluid dynamics suggests increased likelihood of degeneration in partially thrombosed false lumen.” Bioengineering3 (2023): 316.
• Reference [2]: Kanaris, A. G., A. D. Anastasiou, and S. V. Paras. “Modeling the effect of blood viscosity on hemodynamic factors in a small bifurcated artery.” Chemical Engineering Science71 (2012): 202-211.

Figure 1: A diagram showing Atherosclerosis, the focus of this Aorta Flow CFD study [1].

Simulation Process: Fluent Setup, Meshing the Aorta and Defining Blood Flow Conditions

For this Aorta Flow Fluent simulation, we started with a 3D geometry of the aorta that was created from real patient MRI images. We created two models: one of a healthy aorta and another with fat deposits. Using ANSYS Meshing, we created a high-quality grid of 638,974 cells for the model. In the solver, we set the blood flow to be laminar, which is typical for large arteries. This careful setup allows us to accurately compare the healthy case with the diseased case and see the direct effects of the fat deposition.

Figure 2: The 3D geometry models used in the simulation: (a) healthy aorta and (b) aorta with fat deposition (stenosis).

Post-processing: CFD Analysis, Visualizing Flow Disruption and Wall Stress in the Diseased Aorta

The velocity contour provides a clear, professional visual of the difference between a healthy and a diseased aorta. In the healthy vessel, blood flows smoothly. In the aorta with fat deposits, the flow is forced through a much narrower space. This causes the blood to speed up dramatically. Our simulation shows that the blood velocity in the narrowed section can increase by up to 300%. This high-speed jet of blood can cause further damage to the artery wall. After passing the blockage, the flow becomes disturbed and creates small, swirling vortices.

Figure 3: Velocity contour from the Fat Deposition on Aorta Flow Fluent analysis, comparing the healthy aorta (left) and the diseased aorta (right).

The pressure contour reveals another dangerous effect. The professional visual shows that the pressure drops sharply across the fatty blockage. We found the pressure difference in the diseased aorta was up to 5 times higher than in the healthy one. This creates high pressure before the blockage and high stress right on the plaque. This high wall shear stress is very dangerous because it can cause the fatty plaque to break open. When a plaque ruptures, it can form a blood clot that may travel to the heart or brain and cause a heart attack or stroke. The most important achievement of this simulation is the clear demonstration of how fatty deposits create high-speed jets and dangerous high-stress zones on the artery wall, providing a direct link between plaque geometry and the hemodynamic forces that lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Figure 4: Pressure distribution from the Effect Of Fat Deposition on Aorta Flow CFD simulation, showing the large pressure drop across the plaque.