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An Important Choice
Based on these criteria we will answer the following questions when analyzing the valves:
- What is the pressure drop across each valve? - Is the flow around each valve turbulent?
- What physiological effects are there?
- How does it relate to the orifice diameter?
To compare the valves within the scope of the fluid mechanics curriculum certain simplifications must be made.
First we simplify the blood flow to be steady and incompressible. It is safe to assume that blood is incompressible,
as fluids at small velocities, such as those seen in the heart and arteries, are reasonably approximated to be
incompressible. Also, while blood is a non-Newtonian fluid, it can be assumed to be Newtonian when flowing in
large diameter vessels such as the aorta. The pressure field acting on the valves will also be considered as uniform,
with the assumption that blood is inviscid. Lastly, in the case where we wish to find the pressure gradient, we will
assume that points on each side of the valve are connected by a streamline. While this allows for simplification, it
does not rule out the possibly of turbulent flow due to the artificial valve occluder.
Pressure drop (Δp) is a measure of flow potential energy losses that occur when blood
flows through the heart valve and is a measure of heart valve efficiency. The larger the
pressure drop across a prosthetic aortic valve, the larger the systolic pressure in the left
ventricle must be to drive flow. Pressure drop should be minimized when dealing with
prosthetic valves because left ventricular pressure is the primary determinant of myocardial
oxygen consumption. Drawing a diagram of the valve in the aortic position we apply Bernoulli’s equation
across points 1 and 2, which reside on the same streamline and the valve is open (where d1= vessel diameter and d2=
valve orifice diameter):
The calculated Re values exceed 4,000, therefore showing turbulence. However these numbers do not incorporate
the ball and disk obstructing the flow. As a result, the likelihood of turbulent flow occurring due to both valves
increases. Despite the fact that these Re values may be inaccurate, we feel that they show an accurate relationship
between the valves, in that the Starr-Edwards valve creates turbulent flow more easily than does the Björk-Shiley
valve. This is because the ball is unable to dislocate from the flow path, blocking flow, whereas the disk obstructs
much less of the aorta as it tilts to 60°. Because the ball exposes more surface area normal to the flow, we feel that it
would create more damaging flow patterns.
Physiological Effects of Valve Hemodynamics
Artificial valves have advantages including durability and disadvantages including risk of anti-coagulant
related hemorrhage, valve failure, and thrombosis. Many of the negative effects of prosthetic valves can be
attributed to their specific design, while others occur in all cases.
Effect of turbulence 407.pdf
Thrombus formation fludmechanicsofheartvalves.pdf page 26 The rate of growth of a thrombus
depends on the hemodynamic environment, particularly shear rate and shear stress. Shear rate causes diffusion-like
platelet motion that is orders of magnitude larger than Brownian diffusion. The shear rate also determines the rate at
which plasma proteins and coagulation cascade enzymes are transported to the growing thrombus, and the
composition (relative proportion of platelets, fibrin, and trapped red blood cells) of the thrombus. Shear stress
modulates the adhesion and aggregation reaction rates of platelets, as well as the rate of embolism of the thrombus
Patients with artificial valves have a clot formation of .1-5.7% per patient-year.. A host of biological factors are also
involved in thrombosis, including atherosclerotic plaque composition, hematocrit, and platelet count.
http://www.me.gatech.edu/david.ku/thrombosis.html
hemolysis (cavitation, abrasion against parts), stenosis
Conclusion
What We Learned
Having completed research for the project, we as a group learned a great deal about the fluid mechanics of
biological and artificial heart valves. We learned about the characteristics of 2 different artificial heart valves, how
they function if implanted within the human body, and compared the two to see which had the least risk for failure.
Throughout our research, we learned how to apply the course material towards a modern application. It is one thing
to be told to make assumptions such as steady and incompressible flow when solving the Bernoulli or Navier-Stokes
equations, however it was not until we were able to apply these assumptions towards a real system, that their
purpose became clear to us as a group. Through our research, we also learned about the Reynolds number, and how
it can be an indicator as to whether fluid flow is more steady or turbulent. For the heart valves, we learned that
anything above Re = 4000 means that the blood flow is turbulent, leading to an increased risk for valve failure. The
lower the Reynolds number, the less turbulent the flow is. Seeing as the Reynolds number for the Björk-Shiley heart
valve was much lower than the Starr-Edwards valve, the Björk-Shiley valve creates less of a turbulent flow, and thus
a much less risk of causing any harmful physiological effects.
After learning about the heart valves, and applying certain assumptions to the Navier-Stokes equation for
the blood flow, we then researched how the heart valves are actually created and tested. Seeing as the Navier-Stokes
equations are too complex to be solved by hand without making many invalid, simplifying assumptions, real
scientists and engineers use computational fluid dynamics software to calculate as accurately as possible the
properties of the blood flow through the heart valve.
Team Chemistry
Overall team chemistry was good. We were each able to add something to the group, and to the project.
We all feel as if we learned a great deal from working together, not only from the research, but from each other. Our
collaboration and communication was very good. We split the proposal up into sections for each of us to write, and
then proof read and made changes to each section together.
Works Cited
Appendix
A B
Application of the Navier-Stokes and Continuity Equation to model two dimensional flow through a valve