The present paper is concerned with the flow in a two-dimensional channel, whose wall is partially compliant. The flow is calculated by the finite-difference method. The results are as follows :
(1) When the upstream condition is given by steady flow (Reynolds number
Re-=50), the compliant part of the wall oscillates with the frequency, which is nearly equal to the characteristic frequency of the wall. The absolute value of pressure drop across the compliant part becomes small compared with that of plane Poiseuille flow with rigid walls. This ensures under the physiological condition that the blood can be more easily transported toward the distal vessels because of the compliance of walls.
(2) When the upstream condition is given by pulsatile flow (Womersley number α=8), there appears interaction between the characteristic frequency of the wall and the basic frequency of the main stream near the compliant wall. As the basic frequency of the pulsatile flow decreases, the absolute value of pressure drop across the compliant wall also becomes small compared with that of pulsatile flow between a rigid channel.
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