Effect of wall motion on the flow dynamics of the pulmonary artery

Background Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) are usually carried out with the rigid walls assumption. In some cases, this is a valid approach however, blood does not flow inside rigid vessels instead, they have some degree of elasticity. This elasticity is vital in some studies into the stiffness of the walls due to either natural aging or some cardiovascular disease. Materials and methods Parting with an already prepared 3D simVascular model of an healthy pulmonary artery, we started with deciding the characteristics of the mesh. Later, we decided the boundary conditions and the wall properties. Results Results show us the differences of a rigid wall simulation compared to one with deformable walls. At first glance, there might seem that the difference is negligible but, the reality is, that the values like wall shear stress (WSS) or the vorticity held great importance in the ambit of cardiovascular disease. Conclusions CFD is a powerful tool to investigate flow patterns in blood vessels and in the prediction of dangerous situations. Even though all the simulations have many assumptions and are not perfect, their advanced techniques that are continuously being introduced and improved are essential for the betterment of our life.