The Effect of Inlet Flow Profile, Carotid Bulb Diameter and Non Newtonian Blood Viscosity on the Wall Shear Stress in a Carotid Artery Bifurcation Model for Transient Flow

The carotid artery begins at the aorta within the chest and courses up through the neck to the head. The most common site of atherosclerotic plaque development is at the carotid bifurcation. The size, shape and location of the carotid bulbs are unique to each person. The individual geometry of each person's carotid artery has different flow features and the possibility of atherogenesis. In this work, the effect of inlet flow profile and variations in the carotid bulb sizes and the non-Newtonian viscosity behavior of blood on Wall Shear Stress have been studied by using Ansys Fluent 15. The simulation studies have shown that Wall Shear Stress is reduced with the increase in carotid bulb diameter. Also, the value of Wall Shear Stress decreases remarkably when the nature of the inlet velocity profile changes. What is observed is that when the blood is considered Newtonian (in terms of viscosity) and if the velocity profile is parabolic, there are more chances of atherosclerotic plaque formation there.