| A computer code for simulating complex physiological flows, with emphasis given to the modeling of the hemodynamic processes present in healthy and diseased arterial systems, has been developed. The code implements the general conservation equations of mass and momentum of a fluid continuum using a control volume numerical methodology. Flows may be modeled in one, two or three dimensions, as governed by the geometry of the vessel. One-dimensional flows are modeled using a lumped parameter technique while flows involving multiple dimensions are modeled as distributed parameter nonlinear systems.; Boundary conditions may be either constant or time varying, depending upon the nature of the simulation. For example, a pulsed boundary (i.e., pressure, velocity or mass flow rate) may be specified to model arterial flows. Boundary conditions are supplied via an external data file and may be as detailed as necessary to capture the desired waveform. The representation of fluid properties is sufficiently general as to allow the specification of non-Newtonian as well as Newtonian fluids (algorithms for linearly viscous fluids as well as fluids with linear viscoelastic properties have been incorporated into the code).; A distensible wall model has been developed and coupled to the solution of the fluid equations to analyze flows in compliant vessels. For simulations involving rigid vessels, the wall model may be deactivated.; The code has been benchmarked against a variety of classical flows with known solutions. The code has been further validated with comparisons to several experimental studies, including periodic flow through stenotic vessels. |
