title: The assignment of velocity profiles in finite element simulations of pulsatile flow in arteries.
abstract: In this paper we present a new method for the assignment of pulsatile velocity profiles as input boundary conditions in finite element models of arteries. The method is based on the implementation of the analytical solution for developed pulsatile flow in a rigid straight tube. The analytical solution provides the fluid dynamics of the region upstream from the fluid domain to be investigated by means of the finite element approach. In standard fluid dynamics finite element applications, the inlet developed velocity profiles are achieved assuming velocity boundary conditions to be easily implementable-such as flat or parabolic velocity profiles-applied to a straight tube of appropriate length. The tube is attached to the inflow section of the original fluid domain so that the flow can develop fully. The comparison between the analytical solution and the traditional numerical approach indicates that the analytical solution has some advantages over the numerical one. Moreover, the results suggest that subroutine employment allows a consistent reduction in solving time especially for complex fluid dynamic model, and significantly decreases the storage and memory requirements for computations.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Redaelli
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boschetti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Inzoli
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology*; D003196:Computer Graphics; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D011673:Pulsatile Flow / Q000502:physiology*; D012984:Software