Numerical Study of the Steady Axisymmetric Flow Through a Disk-Type Prosthetic Heart Valve in an Aortic-Shaped Chamber

Abstract

Numerical solutions for the steady axisymmetric flow through a disk-type prosthetic heart valve were obtained for Reynolds numbers from 50 to 600. A nonuniform mesh in both directions was used and the finite difference equations in vorticity and stream function were solved explicitly. Stream function, vorticity, and shear and normal stress plots are presented. These detailed results clearly identify regions of very high shear and normal stresses, regions of very low or very high shear stress at the walls and the extent of separated or reverse flow regions. The length of the separated flow region downstream of the disk agreed very well with experimental data. The maximum value of the shear stress occurred on the upstream corner of the disk.