Numerical Analysis of Pulsating Flow in a Smooth Constriction Using Immersed Boundary Method

A major incentive for studying the flow of an incompressible fluid through a smooth constriction comes from the medical field. These constrictions represent arterial stenosis which is caused by deposition of intravascular plaques. To understand some of the major complications which can arise from arterial stenosis, the knowledge of the flow characteristics in the vicinity of constriction is essential. The main objective of the present work is to develop a two-dimensional computational model using a feedback forcing-based immersed boundary (IB) method to study steady and laminar pulsatile flow in a channel with a smooth constriction and investigate the effects of the Womersley number on the flow property. The study assumes the immersed boundary walls as rigid, and the flow is considered viscous, incompressible, and axisymmetric. The pulsatile flow simulations are done for a wide range of Womersley number within the physiological conditions for blood flow in arteries. The results obtained are in good agreement with the data from the literature.