A fluid-solid interaction study of the pulse wave velocity in uniform arteries

Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) is recognized by clinicians as an index of mechanical properties of human blood vessels. This concept is based on the Moens-Korteweg equation, which describes the PWV in ideal elastic tubes. However, measured PWV of real human blood vessels cannot be always interpreted by the Moens-Korteweg equation because this formula is not precisely applicable to blood vessels. It is important to understand the wave propagation in blood vessels for a more reliable diagnosis of vascular disease. In this study, we modeled uniform arteries in a three-dimensional coupled fluid-solid interaction computational scheme, and analyzed the pulse wave propagation. A commercial code (Radioss, MECALOG, France) was used to solve the fluid-solid interactions. The governing equations are the compressive Navier-Stokes equations and the equation of continuity for the fluid region, and the equation of equilibrium for the solid region. At the inlet, a steady flow with Reynolds number 1000 was imposed as the basic flow, then a single rectangular pulse with Reynolds number 4000 was imposed upon the basic flow to produce a propagating wave. We compared the PWV values in the uniform artery obtained by computation with those from the Moens-Korteweg equation, and showed the availability of applying the computational technique to wave propagation analysis in human large arteries.