Problem Specification — Lesson 1

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Learning Goals

In this lesson, you will learn to:

• Create a mesh for a three-dimensional (3D) internal flow,
• Visualize the flow and compare it to expected results

Problem Specification

BBlood flows through the bifurcating artery from the inlet (to the left in the graph above) and exits from the two outlets (to the right). The diameter of the artery at the inlet is around 6.3 mm. The diameter of Outlet 1 is around 4.5 mm and the diameter of Outlet 2 is around 3.0 mm. The density of blood is 1060 kg/m^3 [1]. Blood is a non-Newtonian fluid, meaning the coefficient of viscosity of blood is not a constant, but is a function of velocity gradients. Because velocity gradients have approximately a 10% effect on the results, for simplicity we will model the fluid with a constant viscosity here. We will also ignore the pulsatile and cyclic nature of blood flow, as the problem would become transient. If you are interested in modeling these effects, please see the 3D Bifurcating Artery (unsteady) tutorial. The pressure at the outlet is defined to be constant (100 mm Hg). More details on boundary conditions will be provided in the next page on Pre-Analysis and Setup.

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