A unified numerical method for fluid-structure interaction applied to human cochlear mechanics

Abstract

A main problem with the numerical simulation of mechanical wave propagation in the cochlea is the coupling of the orthotropic elastic solid (cochlear partition and further structures) and the fluid (perilymph). We developed a unified approach employing velocity and pressure in the entire domain. The numerical approach consists in a finite-volume solver for the coupled solution of equations of motion for fluid and solid working on a single three-dimensional continuum domain. We represent the perilymph as a compressible and viscous fluid with the mechanical properties of water. The cochlear partition is modelled as a 2D membrane whose orthotropicity is represented by a shear modulus. Numerical results of a 3D uncoiled box model show a frequency dependent locus of maximum displacement along the cochlear partition, representing traveling waves. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.