In the last few years advanced simulation tools has been tested in academic context to understand the cause that leads to the breakup of an aneurysm; however, actually, they have no impact in patient treatment. The paper analyses some problems that should be solved to make Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) a tool for diagnosis and therapy of aneurism. In particular, the focus is to identify how and what parameters of the numerical simulations influence the evaluation of hemodynamic properties and disease diagnosis. In our study, we consider a simplified geometric model of the arteries and the aneurysm. First, we analyse differences between 2D and 3D grids and the effects of grid refinement by evaluating the Grid Convergence Index (GCI). Then, the fluid viscosity is considered modelling the blood as a Newtonian fluid. The GCI study demonstrates, as expected, that the grid refinement positively contributes to the accuracy of the simulation; whereas, the comparison between 2D and 3D simulations shows relevant differences on results. Our study defines a discretization strategy; structured grids are more efficient an accurate than unstructured one. Finally, the fluid viscosity has much less influence than that of the topology and the spatial dimension (2D or 3D) of the grid. In synthesis, the paper defines rules for a correct simulation strategy of the blood flow inside an aortic bifurcation. These results are preliminary but fundamental to integrate automatic CFD analyses in aneurism diagnosis process.
Effectiveness of Simulations in Decision Making: Preliminary Studies on CFD as a Tool for Aneurism Diagnosis and Therapy
BARTESAGHI, SIMONE;COLOMBO, GIORGIO;
2012-01-01
Abstract
In the last few years advanced simulation tools has been tested in academic context to understand the cause that leads to the breakup of an aneurysm; however, actually, they have no impact in patient treatment. The paper analyses some problems that should be solved to make Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) a tool for diagnosis and therapy of aneurism. In particular, the focus is to identify how and what parameters of the numerical simulations influence the evaluation of hemodynamic properties and disease diagnosis. In our study, we consider a simplified geometric model of the arteries and the aneurysm. First, we analyse differences between 2D and 3D grids and the effects of grid refinement by evaluating the Grid Convergence Index (GCI). Then, the fluid viscosity is considered modelling the blood as a Newtonian fluid. The GCI study demonstrates, as expected, that the grid refinement positively contributes to the accuracy of the simulation; whereas, the comparison between 2D and 3D simulations shows relevant differences on results. Our study defines a discretization strategy; structured grids are more efficient an accurate than unstructured one. Finally, the fluid viscosity has much less influence than that of the topology and the spatial dimension (2D or 3D) of the grid. In synthesis, the paper defines rules for a correct simulation strategy of the blood flow inside an aortic bifurcation. These results are preliminary but fundamental to integrate automatic CFD analyses in aneurism diagnosis process.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
