An intriguing field of research in physiology and biomechanics is non-Newtonian blood flow in arteries. Blood behaves non-Newtonian, meaning that the forces acting on it alter its viscosity. This characteristic becomes especially crucial in arteries since blood flow patterns might differ greatly. Blood’s composition, which contains plasma and different biological components like red blood cells, is largely responsible for its non-Newtonian nature. Blood’s viscosity can vary dynamically as it passes through arteries, particularly in areas with complex shapes or during pulsatile flow. This numerical study tries to scrutinize the non-Newtonian behavior of blood in an artery considering pulsatile flow.

Simulation Process

*** Mesh Independence study: A mesh independence study is conducted for the current project to find the most accurate grid with the least computational cost. The table represents the results:

After thorough analysis, the grid with 570571 cells is selected.

The artery geometry model is created based on authentic MRI images. It should be considered that blood behaves similarly to a non-Newtonian fluid, so it requires preliminary steps to relate viscosity and shear stress via using the Correau model. A user-defined function (UDF) is particularly written in C language to apply pulse effects for blood inlet boundary. Interestingly, massless particles are carried by blood flow (Discrete Phase Model (DPM)). It is done to track blood components path along the artery.

Figure 1: Pulsatile blood flow in Artery

Post-processing

Two important findings from these blood flow simulations in a bifurcating artery model are the distributions of wall shear stress and non-uniform velocity. Higher speeds are visible in the vessel centers with intricate flow patterns near the bifurcation, according to the velocity profile. The inner walls of the  vessels and the bifurcation site have noticeably higher wall shear stress, which may have important consequences for vascular health. These findings highlight the significance of geometry in governing local hemodynamics, which may have implications for conditions like the development of atherosclerosis or aneurysms. The simulations offer insightful information on the complex interplay between blood flow dynamics and artery anatomy, which is essential for comprehending cardiovascular risks and creating focused therapies or medical devices.