Abstract
It is well known that the abdominal aorta is a site of predilection for the occurrence of atherosclerosis and atherosclerotic aneurysms. In this study three dimensional flow patterns in the lateral saccular aneurysm were investgated by finite element methods. The aneurysm model had dome-shaped diverticulum arising from one side of the straight circular tube and simulated lateral saccular aneurysms. Calculation were performed of steady flow at Reynolds number of 15, 75, 150, 300, 600. The flow was separated from diverging part of expansion. The formation of the vortex was occured in essentially the same manner as those in the axisymmetric models. The downward flows from the ceiling at the diverging part were observed at Reynolds number 300, 600. At the converging part the direction of secondary flow was reversed. The formation of the vortex resulted in complex distributions of shear stress fields. These fluid motions can be important factors in thrombogenesis.
