Hemodynamic characteristics of compliant carotid artery with single eccentric stenosis

Arterial stenoses are often seen to have asymmetric plaque distribution that shows strong influence on the hemodynamics of the artery. The present work carries out three-dimensional computations with the fluid–structure interaction to study the hemodynamics of compliant eccentric artery with single stenosis. The severity and eccentricity of stenosis are varied over a wide range. Eccentricity is defined as the offset between the centerline of the normal artery and the centerline of the stenosed artery. The blood flow having a pulsatile nature has been provided at the inlet of the computational fluid domain. The blood viscosity is modeled using the non-Newtonian Carreau model, and the compliant solid domain is linear elastic. The fluid domain uses the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation, whereas the solid domain is solved in the Lagrangian frame with a two-way coupling being used at the interface. Transient flow behavior has been illustrated using iso-Q surfaces, vorticity, and helicity contours. The deformation in the arterial wall has been presented in response to the inlet transient flow and variation in eccentricity. The present work also brings out the distinction in results for compliant artery when compared with the geometrically similar rigid counterpart. The results indicate that although deformations in the arterial wall are minimal, they affect the flow behavior significantly. Comparison shows that the wall shear stress in the compliant artery is relatively low as compared to that in the rigid case. There appears a slight underestimation in the oscillatory shear index distribution when compliance of artery is neglected.