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J. Biomechonics. Vol. 3. pp. 297-305. Pergamon Press, 1970.

Printed in Great Britain

FLOW THROUGH A CONVERGING-DIVERGING


TUBE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS IN OCCLUSIVE
VASCULAR DISEASE- I
THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT”

JOHN H. FORRESTER
Assistant Professor, Department of Engineering Mechanics, The University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, Tenn. 379 16,U.S.A.
and
DONALD F. YOUNG
Professor, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Iowa State University.
Ames, Iowa 50010, U.S.A.

Abstract-The steady flow of an incompressible fluid through an axisymmetric converging-


diverging tube has been studied both theoretically (Part 1) and experimentally (Part II). Possible
implications of this type of flow in the development of vascular lesions are discussed in Part I I.
A mathematical model for a mild stenosis is established and an approximate solution for flow
through a converging-diverging tube obtained. Velocity profiles, pressures, and wall shearing
stresses along the tube are determined from this solution. The critical Reynolds number
required for separation, and the extent of the separated region are also determined.

1. INTRODUCTION gators that atherosclerotic plaques are


IN THE arterial systems of mammals, it is caused primarily by faulty lipid metabolism.
quite common to find narrowings, or stenoses, However, since atherosclerotic lesions are
some of which are, at least approximately, commonly found at the entrances of branching
axisymmetric or ‘collar-like’. These con- vessels, in curved arterial segments, or
strictions may be caused by intravascular generally at locations of abrupt changes
plaques or the impingement of ligaments in geometry (and thus in flow characteristics),
or spurs on the vessel wall (Roach, 1963; any theory for their formation and growth
Rodbard, 1966): Young (1968) has suggested should take into account the flow character-
that once a vascular lesion has developed, istics of the blood. Indeed, such terms as
there may be a ‘coupling’ effect between pressure, shearing stress, vortices, and
its further development and the changed turbulence are frequently mentioned in the
flow characteristics. A knowledge of the medical literature on atherosclerosis.
flow characteristics in the vicinity of a Fox and Hugh (1966) indicate that in
stenosis may help to further the under- the arterial system static zones occur, which
standing of some of the major complications are due to separation of the main flow from
which can arise from such constrictions. the walls of the arteries. It is suggested
These include: that in these separation zones there is an
(a) an ingrowth of tissue into the artery; interaction of platelets and fibrin to form
(b) the development of a thrombus (an a mesh in which lipid particles become
intravascular clot); (c) the weakening and trapped, with the subsequent formation of
bulging of the artery downstream from the a plaque of atheroma. Certainly thrombus
stenosis (post-stenotic dilatation). formation is one of the major complications
It has been suggested by numerous investi- of prosthetic heart valves, and many investi-

*Received I5 May 1969.


297
298 J. H. FORRESTER and D. F. YOUNG

gators have suggested that stagnation zones pressure, when combined with the pressure
near the valve contribute to the formation drop due to friction, may be sufficiently
of thrombi. Thus, it seems reasonable to large to cause an adverse pressure gradient
speculate that if separation regions of relat- to develop, i.e. the resultant pressure may
ively stagnant flow occur near stenoses, be increasing in the direction of flow. The
they may well contribute to the problems motion of a thin layer of fluid adjacent to
of thrombosis. the wall is retarded by the wall friction and
The present investigation was initiated the adverse pressure gradient, but moved
to study the flow characteristics in the vicinity forward by the fluid above it because of
of an axisymmetric constriction, with par- viscous effects. If the adverse pressure
ticular attention given to the problem of gradient becomes sufficiently large, it will
flow separation. As noted previously it is cause the slowly moving particles of fluid
believed that a knowledge of the flow char- near the wall to reverse their direction of
acteristics in stenoses is a necessary pre- flow and a separation region will develop,
requisite to a better understanding of the as illustrated in Fig. 1. The fluid inside
relationship between blood flow and the the separation region (bounded by the dotted
development of stenotic obstructions in lines) is expected to circulate in the manner
arteries. indicated, and not move downstream with
the main body of fluid. The dotted lines
2. STREAMLINE SEPARATION represent a streamline and the phenomenon
‘Poiseuille flow’ is obtained for the case indicated is known as streamline separation,
of fully developed, steady, laminar flow or simply separation. The separation point
of a viscous, incompressible, Newtonian and the reattachment point are located at
fluid flowing through a straight circular the upstream and downstream ends, re-
tube. The velocity profile is parabolic at spectively, of the separation region. Due
any section along the tube, the streamlines to symmetry these points form a continuous
are straight and parallel, and there is no curve circumferentially around the tube
change in any of the flow characteristics so that there actually exists ‘separation
along the tube. If a converging-diverging and reattachment lines’.
section is added, the velocity profiles will In discussing boundary layer separation,
change, with a subsequent change in other Schlichting (1968) defines the separation
flow characteristics. point as the limit between the forward and
When streamlines are converging in the reverse flow in the layer of fluid adjacent
direction of flow, the negative pressure to the wall; that is where
gradient associated with the convective
acceleration combines with the viscous
effects in retarding the fluid. Thus, in a
converging tube, the velocity distribution
near the center of the tube becomes somewhat
i)
LB.!
ay u=. =
0

where u is the component of velocity parallel


flatter than the parabolic distribution, and to the wall and y is in a direction normal
the convergence has a tendency to stabilize to the wall. The same definition may be
the laminar mode of flow (Prandtl and used for the reattachment point. Because
Tietjens, 1934). the present problem is not considered to
When the streamlines are diverging, be a boundary layer type of problem in the
the mean velocity decreases in the direction classical sense (no potential core of fluid
of flow and there is an increase in pressure is assumed), the expression ‘streamline
due to the ‘Bernoulli effect’. This increased separation’ is preferred over the term
FLOW THROUGH A CONVERGING-DIVERGING TUBE- I 299

Region
Fig. I. Expected velocity profiles in a converging-diverging tube.

‘boundary layer separation’ to describe the expected forms of velocity profiles is shown
phenomenon. The separation and reattach- in Fig. 1.
ment points are points of stagnation on the Obviously, the restrictions utilized in estab-
streamline which divides the oncoming lishing a tractable model are not satisfied
flow from the reverse flow. in a biological system, and each of the
The pattern of flow in Fig. 1 is essentially restrictions will be considered in more
that of laminar separation. The separation detail in the following paragraphs.
region is well defined, and there is no tur- The steady flow condition is difinitely
bulent mixing within the region. As the not valid in the larger arteries. However,
Reynolds number is increased and the if the frequency parameter R, (w/v)"~ is
separation region grows larger, turbulent less than one, then the flow may be treated
eddies will develop within the separation as quasi-steady, where R, is the radius of
region, and some will move downstream. the artery, o is the characteristic frequency
Thus large energy losses are usually assoc- of the pulsations, and v is the kinematic
iated with separation, particularly at high viscosity of the blood. This condition may
Reynolds numbers. If the flow field preceding be satisfied in the smaller arteries. Since
the constriction is turbulent, the general the value of the parameter R, (o.Jv)'~~ is
effect is to delay separation by either moving approximately three in the femoral artery
the separation point downstream, or to of man (McDonald, 1960) the quasi-steady
maintain flow without separation. This assumption is only expected to be valid in
is due to the mixing effect of turbulence arteries that are considerably smaller than
which tends to replace the normally slow the femoral artery. There may also be cases
moving fluid near the boundary with fluid where a quasi-steady flow is obtained in
of higher kinetic energy. some of the larger arteries, due to a congential
or acquired constriction in a major artery
3. MODEL OF STENOSIS (Mandelbaum and Burns, 1965; Bernstein
The specific problem which is considered et al., 1965). The assumption of laminar
in this paper is that of steady, laminar, flow is not expected to be restrictive in those
axisymmetric flow of an incompressible, portions of the arterial system where the flow
Newtonian fluid through a converging- is nearly steady.
diverging tube having rigid walls. Since A ‘collar-like’ stenosis centrally located
only axisymmetric flow is considered, the in a relatively straight artery will approximate
tube must have circular cross-sections at the axisymmetric condition. Also, if a stenosis
all locations, and the cross-section is constant has developed, the arterial wall has undoubt-
except in the converging-diverging section. edly undergone complex physiological
A sketch of such a tube together with the changes, but the gross result is generally
300 J. H. FORRESTER and D. F. YOUNG

a hardening of the walls of the artery. Thus


the assumption of the arterial wail being a
rigid tube may not seriously affect the results
obtained for steady flow.
Although blood is actually a non-Newton- L----2,~26--J

ian suspension of cells in plasma, it may Fig. 2. The converging-diverging tube.


be considered to flow as a homogeneous,
Newtonian fluid in vessels greater than
g+:$(rv) = 0. (4)
approximately O-5 mm in dia. (McDonald,
1960). Other investigators (Merrill ef al.,
1966; Merrill and Pelletier, 1967) have In general we have no suitable means for
found that important rheological character- obtaining exact solutions to these equations
istics of blood arise from the action of for problems of the type under consideration,
fibrinogen on the red blood cells, and that i.e. for problems in which the non-linear
blood does have a yield stress (due to fibrin- terms are non-zero. Although an exact
ogen). However, they have concluded that analytical solution was not deemed feasible,
the non-Newtonian characteristics of blood an approximate solution can be obtained
are apparent only at low rates of shear, which is useful in characterizing, in a quali-
and that for shear rates above 100 set-I, tative sense, the flow through a constriction.
blood can be considered to behave as a An order-of-magnitude analysis was per-
Newtonian fluid. Thus, it was expected that formed to determine if any of the terms
the non-Newtonian characteristics of blood in equations (2) and (3) might be expected
would not be important in the present in- to have a negligible effect on the problem
vestigation, except possibly in the immediate being considered. The equations were written
vicinity of the separation region where in terms of dimensionless space variables
low shear rates may occur. and velocity components which had an
order of magnitude of unity or less. It was
4. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS found (Forrester, 1968) that if S/Z, is small
The specific boundary form for the stenosis compared to 1, that the axial normal stress
used in this study is described by the equation gradient in equation (2) is negligible compared
to the gradient of the shear component.
If S/R0 is small, the radial variation in pressure
R=R,-;(l+cos~) (1)
can be neglected. Thus for a ‘mild’ stenosis,
i.e. one for which S/Z, and S/R0 are small,
for -Z, 5 z 5 Z,, with a constant radius equations (2) and (3) can be approximated as
outside this range (Fig. 2). The governing
equations for the problem are the Navier-
Stokes equations,
.g+vg=-$g+v($+;$) (5)

and
v*+uau+!ap~v e!+lau+a2u
(
at- a2 p az a? r at- az2 > (2) ako
ar- * (6)
au 1 ap
v~+u-+_-=v azu,le_u a2v
(
az par P+azZ
> (3)
a9 r ar Equation (5) can now be integrated
the tube to obtain
across

where p is the pressure and u and v are the


velocity components in the z and r directions, rU2dr=_-Idp!?+vR
respectively, and the continuity equation, pdz 2
FLOW THROUGH A CONVERGING-DIVERGING TUBE- I 301

where the boundary condition u= v= 0 are given by (a) and (b). Condition (c) is
at r = R has been applied. The integrated simply a definition, and (d) is obtained from
form of the continuity equation is equation(5). In order to obtain the fifth
condition (e) it is assumed that at r = 0,
Q=?iRZo=j-;2rrrudr (8) the velocity profile is very nearly parabolic
at the center of the tube (u = U[ 1 - (r/R)‘])
where u is the mean velocity at any given so that the second derivative of u with respect
cross-section with radius R, and Q is the to r, at r = 0, can be approximated by (e).
volume rate of flow. We now assume that This last condition is based on the assumption
the radial dependence of the axial velocity that only near the wall of the tube will the
can be expressed as a fourth order polynomial velocity profile deviate significantly from the
of the form parabolic form. Thus equation (9) becomes

~=A~+B~~+C++~~+E (9)

where q = (R-d/R, U is the centerline


velocity and A through E are, as yet, un-
determined coefficients. This procedure is where
similar to the Karman-Pohlhausen method A=
--R’dp
(Schlichting, 1968) commonly used in the pU dz’
study of laminar boundary layers. The
Karman-Pohlhausen method has been applied We note that the velocity profiles are func-
to many different types of boundary layer tions of the single parameter A which in
problems and found to give good results turn depends on the pressure gradient.
in regions of accelerated flows. In regions Equation (10) can be substituted into equation
of retarded flows, the procedure becomes (8) and integrated to give
less reliable as the separation point is app-
roached. However, it should be emphasized
that the present problem is not a boundary
(11)
layer problem.
The coefficients in equation (9) are eval- The parameter A is determined from the
uated from the following five conditions: momentum equation (equation (7)). However,
in order to do so a rather lengthy non-linear
(a) atr=R, u=O ordinary differential equation must be solved
numerically. Rather than to use this numerical
(b) at r = 0, au-
ar-
0 procedure an additional approximation was
made to obtain a relatively simple solution
(cl atr=O, u= U to the problem, which clearly reveals the
pertinent characteristics of the flow through
(d) atr= R, “++i2!)
dz this type of obstruction.
The non-linearities which occur arise
from the integral in the momentum equation
(e) atr=O, ‘$=-$$
(equation (7)). If the non-linear terms are
neglected, the flow thus described will be
The boundary conditions of zero velocity a ‘Poiseuille’ flow through the stenosis,
(no slip) at the wall and axisymmetric flow a situation already discussed by Young
302 J. H. FORRESTER and D. F. YOUNG

(1968). In the present study, instead of is positive so that an adverse pressure gradient
neglecting the integral, it is evaluated by (dpldz > 0) may develop. In dimensionless
assuming that the velocity profile is parabolic, form equation (14) can be written
i.e.
& 5432 Ro5 dR
dp = --__16Ro4 (15)
pUo2 dz 1575 R5 dz Re, R4
(12)
where
where u is the mean velocity at the given Re = ~2RoUo
cross-section. Barnard et al., (1966) in their
0 (16)
w
study of unsteady flow through flexible
tubes evaluated this same integral by such is the Reynolds number upstream from the
an approximation. This procedure in effect stenosis. Thus, for dp/dz 2 0, i.e. an adverse
combines the concept of ‘successive approx- pressure gradient to develop, the following
imations’ with the momentum-integral condition must hold:
technique, in the sense that the parabolic
velocity distribution is the first approximation
(17)
to the problem. For mild stenoses, the
velocity profile is known to approach the
parabolic distribution for low Reynolds With R defined by equation (I), (l/R)(dR/dz)
numbers (Young, 1968). Thus, the validity will have its maximum value somewhere
of the assumption is expected to increase near the middle of the diverging section,
as the Reynolds number is decreased. and there will be some minimal value of
Substitution of equation (12) into the Re, in order for equation (17) to be satisfied.
left-hand side of equation (7) and evaluation As Reo is increased above this minimum
of the integral reduces the momentum equa- value, (l/R)(dR/dz) can be decreased and
tion to equation (17) will still apply.
Equations (11) and (14) can be substituted
. (13) into equation (10) to give the velocity u
R as a function of r and z.

Expressions for ii and (&/a& from equations


(8) and (10) are now substituted into equation
(13) to give an equation which, when com-
bined with equation (11) yields for the (18)
pressure gradient
Two theoretical velocity profiles, as
dp 5432 pQ2 dR
_=---_---- &.LQ
(14)
predicted from equation (18). are plotted to
dz 1575~~ R5 dz ,rrR4’ scale in Fig. 3 for the tube geometry Z. =
4Ro = 126 (the geometry of the tube used
The first term on the right-hand side rep- in the experimental part of the study).
resents the contribution due to the inertia Profiles for Reynolds numbers of 100 and
of the fluid, and the second term arises from 150 are plotted at the axial positions z/Z, =
viscous shearing stresses. In the converging - 1, -0.435, 0, 0.435 and 1. It will be shown
portion of the tube, dRldz is negative so that the axial position z/Z, = O-435 is the incip-
that a favorable pressure gradient exists. ient separation point for the given geometry,
However, in the diverging portion dR/dz and separation is theoretically predicted
FLOW THROUGH A CONVERGING-DIVERGING TUBE-I 303

Fig. 3. Predicted velocity profiles for the tube geometry 2, = 4R0 = 126.

to occur at a critical Reynolds number of dition on the second derivative of the velocity
127.5. Examination of equation (18) reveals at r = 0. It is thus pertinent to review the
that the velocity profiles are composed of major theoretical simplifications which led
a parabolic term plus a term which is mul- to a closed-form solution. These are: (1)
tiplied by the slope of the wall. Thus for the stenosis is ‘mild’; i.e. S/Z, and 6/R,
all Reynolds numbers, the profiles will have are small, (2) the velocity profile is assumed
a parabolic form at z/Z, = - 1, 0, and 1 to be parabolic at the centerline of the tube
where the slope is zero. in order to obtain an expression for 8-uf~r2
At a Reynolds number of 150, separation at r = 0, and (3) the integral in equation (7)
exists in the diverging section. The dotted may be approximated by assuming that
lines represent the streamlines (or actually the velocity profile is parabolic across the
the stream surface) bounding the separation entire tube. In view of these assumptions,
region. There is circulation of the fluid within it may be hazardous to assume the equations
the separation region, and Fig. 3(b) indicates obtained are valid in a quantitative sense
that the thickness of the layer of fluid moving for Reynolds numbers in the range of values
in the downstream direction within the where flow separation occurs. These limita-
separation region is relatively thin with tions will be discussed again in Part II.
respect to the layer moving upstream. To conclude this section, several rela-
It is expected that as the Reynolds number tionships among the variables will be devel-
increases, the velocity profile in the con- oped. Curves of these results will appear
verging section tends to ‘flatten’ in the central in Part II, where the experimental results
portion of the tube, as shown in Fig. 3. are plotted and discussed. Speculation on
The approximate theory predicts a small the implications of these results in the flow
dip in the velocity profile (see Fig. 3(b)) of blood through a stenosis will also be
for Reynolds numbers greater than the discussed in Part II.
critical Reynolds number required for Forrester (1968) has shown that for.
separation. At a Reynolds number of 150 slowly changing boundary forms of the type
the ratio of the maximum velocity to the considered herein that the wall shearing stress
centerline velocity is l-12. This ratio increases is
further as the Reynolds number is increased.
The ‘dip’ in the velocity profile is due to au
the approximate nature of the imposed con-
7, =
(>
/..L -
ar R’
(19)

B.Y.Vd3Na3-E
304 J. H. FORRESTER and D. F. YOUNG

Substitution of equation (18) into equation As the Reynolds number increases above
(19) gives for the wall shearing stress the critical value, equation (21) is satisfied
by two values of z; the smaller value of
_=Q-w 616 Ro4dR
-_---- 8 Ro3 z gives the separation point and the larger
(20)
PU02 1575 R4 dz Reo R3’ value gives the reattachment point. As the
Reynolds number increases, the separation
The separation and reattachment points point moves upstream and the reattachment
occur when the wall shearing stress is point moves downstream from the initial
zero. Therefore the separation-reattachment separation point. However, based on the
condition is present theory, the entire separation region
will always be contained in the diverging
portion, for dRldz + 0 as z -P 0 or as z + Zo.
(21) It is expected that the theoretical solution
will become inaccurate before this condition
For the case of incipient separation, is reached.
i.e. the Reynolds number is just large enough In comparing equations (17) and (21),
to cause separation, it is of interest to de- it is noted that the pressure gradient becomes
termine where in the diverging portion positive before separation occurs. For a
separation will begin. To locate this point given Reo and Ro, the required value of
(I/R)(dRldz) is maximized with respect to (l/R)(dR/dz) for separation is approximately
z. Thus four times greater than its value for the
development of an adverse pressure gradient.
R(d*Rldz*) - (d Rld.z)* = o (22) Thus the existence of a positive pressure
R2 gradient does not necessarily imply that
separation will occur.
Use is now made of the expression for Ideally, under steady flow conditions,
R (equation (1)) and the location of the there is no flow of fluid into or out of the
initial separation point is given by the relation separation region. Thus an equation for the
stream surface enclosing the separation
region may be obtained from the equation

Q = J:‘?c~ ru dr (25)
For R. = 36 (the geometry studied experi-
mentally) where R, is the radial distance from the
centerline of the tube to the stream surface.
Z When the expression for u (equation (18))
- = 0.435. (24)
zo is substituted into equation (25) the equation
to be solved for R, is
It is noted from equation (21) that the initial
separation point depends not on the slope
alone, but rather on the ratio of the slope
to the radius. Once the incipient separation
point is obtained from equation (22) the (26)
critical Reynolds number required to produce
separation can be determined from equation The streamline enclosing the separation
(21). For the geometry Z. = 4Ro = 126, region shown in Fig. 3(b) was calculated
the critical Reynolds number is 127.5. from equation (26).
FL OW THROUGH A CONVERGING-DIVERGING TUBE- I 305

An expression for the pressure p at any Mandelbaum. 1. and Burns, W. H. I 1965) Pulsatile
cross-section z along the stenosis may be and non-pulsatile blood flow. J. Am. wwtl. Ass. 191.
657-660.
obtained by integrating equation ( 14) McDonald. D. A. I 1960) B/ood.flo~, in urtcrirs. p. 90,
f Fort-ester, 1968). 18. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore. Maryland.
Although the theoretical solution described Merrill. E. W., Gilliland, E. R., Lee. T. S. and Salzman.
E. W. I 1966) Blood rheology: effect of fibrinogen
here is an approximate one, it does account deduced by addition. Circctlution RP.F. 13. 437-446.
for many of the pertinent features of the flow Merrill, E. W. and Pelletier, G. A. I 1967) Viscosity
through a converging-diverging tube that of human blood: transition from Newtonian to non-
Newtonian. .I. trppl. Phxsiol. 23. 17% 182.
have been observed experimentally. In Prandtl. L. and Tietjens. 0. G. ( 1934) .4pplird H.&o-
this study the method used is analogous rrrd Aercm~ed7unics. p. 52. McGraw-Hill. New York.
to the Karman-Pohlhausen method. An Roach, M. R. (1963) An experimental study of the
production and time course of poststenotic dilatation
energy-integral equation can also be used in the femoral and carotid arteries of adult dogs.
in addition to the momentum-integral equa- Civd~rtiot~ Rus. 13, 537-55 I.
tion to obtain a solution to this problem. Rodbard. S. I 1966) Dynamics of blood flow in stenotic
vascular lesions. Am. HrtrrtJ. 72,698-704.
The latter method has been considered Schlichting, H. ( 1968) Boun&q Layer Theory. 6th Edn..
by the authors and gives results similar pp. 122. 192. McGraw-Hill, New York.
to those described in the present paper. Young, D. F. I 1968) Effect of a time-dependent stenosis
on flow through a tube. J. EII,YNI: Ind. 90. 248-254.
An experimental study of the flow through
a converging-diverging tube is described NOMENCLATURE
in Part II of this publication. axial position from throat
half-length of stenosis
rl[,~no,l,/e~~rrt~r,lr-
This work was supported by the
Engineering Research Institute. Iowa State University. radial coordinate
radius of the atenosi\
REFERENCES radius of the straight tube
Barnard. A. C. L.. Hunt. W. A.. Timlake, W. P. and maximum height of stenosis
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diverging tube and its implications in occlusive vas- density of fluid
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Fox, J. A. and Hugh. A. E. (1966) Localization of 21~ u,, &/CL
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