A partial domain approach to enable aortic flow simulation without turbulent modeling

Abstract

Analysis of hemodynamics shows great potential to provide indications for the risk of cardiac malformations and is essential for diagnostic purposes in clinical applications. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been established as a valuable tool for the detailed characterization of volumetric blood flow and its effects on the arterial wall. However, studies concentrating on the aortic root have to take the turbulent nature of the flow into account while no satisfactory solution for such simulations exists today. In this paper we propose to combine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) flow acquisitions, providing excellent data in the turbulent regions while showing only limited reliability in the boundary layer, with CFD simulations which can be used to extrapolate the measured data towards the vessel wall. The solution relies on a partial domain approach, restricting the simulations to the laminar flow domain while using MRI measurements as additional boundary conditions to drive the numerical simulation. In this preliminary work we demonstrate the feasibility of the method on flow phantom measurements while comparing actually measured and simulated flow fields under straight and spiral flow regimes.