A Finite-Volume Method in General Curvilinear Coordinates for Simulation of Blood Flow past a Stenosed Artery

In this study, the flow characteristics through symmetric stenosis artery are investigated. The shape of eccentricity for stenotic flows is limited by circularcross sections and plaques usually assumed to be oriented concentrically. The governing equations are the usual Navier-Stokes equations and are numerically solved by using finite volume method in arbitrary orthogonal curvilinear coordinates. In addition, three-dimensional (3D) elliptic grid is presented, which the generating system is based on the solution of a partial differential system. To prevent serious distortion or overlapping of mesh lines, grid regularity is verified by some controlling parameter like Skewness value and maximum grid aspect ratio (MAR). The main objective of the present study is to investigate different degrees of the stenosis (45%, 55%, 65%, and 75% by area reduction) and finding the critical one playing a significant role in the development of forming sediment in the vessel wall. It is shown that the magnitude of inlet Reynolds number has strong relationship with the velocity, pressure, and wall shear stress (WSS) distributions as expected. The most important conclusion obtained from this model is the high WSS, pressure drop, and formation of large recirculation regions found in the downstream of the stenosis, especially in the case of severe stenosis that could create various pathological diseases.