Wall shear stress in intracranial aneurysms and adjacent arteries

Hemodynamic parameters play an important role in aneurysm formation and growth. However, it is difficult to directly observe a rapidly growing de novo aneurysm in a patient. To investigate possible associations between hemodynamic parameters and the formation and growth of intracranial aneurysms, the present study constructed a computational model of a case with an internal carotid artery aneurysm and an anterior communicating artery aneurysm, based on the CT angiography findings of a patient. To simulate the formation of the anterior communicating artery aneurysm and the growth of the internal carotid artery aneurysm, we then constructed a model that virtually removed the anterior communicating artery aneurysm, and a further two models that also progressively decreased the size of the internal carotid artery aneurysm. Computational simulations of the fluid dynamics of the four models were performed under pulsatile flow conditions, and wall shear stress was compared among the different models. In the three aneurysm growth models, increasing size of the aneurysm was associated with an increased area of low wall shear stress, a significant decrease in wall shear stress at the dome of the aneurysm, and a significant change in the wall shear stress of the parent artery. The wall shear stress of the anterior communicating artery remained low, and was significantly lower than the wall shear stress at the bifurcation of the internal carotid artery or the bifurcation of the middle cerebral artery. After formation of the anterior communicating artery aneurysm, the wall shear stress at the dome of the internal carotid artery aneurysm increased significantly, and the wall shear stress in the upstream arteries also changed significantly. These findings indicate that low wall shear stress may be associated with the initiation and growth of aneurysms, and that aneurysm formation and growth may influence hemodynamic parameters in the local and adjacent arteries.

Wall shear stress in portal vein of cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension

AIM To investigate wall shear stress(WSS) magnitude and distribution in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension using computational fluid dynamics. METHODS Idealized portal vein(PV) system models were reconstructed with different angles of the PV-splenic vein(SV) and superior mesenteric vein(SMV)-SV. Patient-specific models were created according to enhanced computed tomography images. WSS was simulated by using a finite-element analyzer, regarding the blood as a Newtonian fluid and the vessel as a rigid wall. Analysis was carried out to compare the WSSin the portal hypertension group with that in healthy controls.RESULTS For the idealized models, WSS in the portal hypertension group(0-10 dyn/cm2) was significantly lower than that in the healthy controls(10-20 dyn/cm2), and low WSS area(0-1 dyn/cm2) only occurred in the left wall of the PV in the portal hypertension group. Different angles of PV-SV and SMV-SV had different effects on the magnitude and distribution of WSS, and low WSS area often occurred in smaller PV-SV angle and larger SMV-SV angle. In the patient-specific models, WSS in the cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension(10.13 ± 1.34 dyn/cm2) was also significantly lower than that in the healthy controls(P < 0.05). Low WSS area often occurred in the junction area of SV and SMV into the PV, in the area of the division of PV into left and right PV, and in the outer wall of the curving SV in the control group. In the cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension, the low WSS area extended to wider levels and the magnitude of WSS reached lower levels, thereby being more prone to disturbed flow occurrence.CONCLUSION Cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension show dramatic hemodynamic changes with lower WSS and greater potential for disturbed flow, representing a possible causative factor of PV thrombosis.

Inner-outer decomposition of wall shear stress fluctuations in turbulent channels

Fluctuating wall shear stress in turbulent channel flows is decomposed into small-scale and large-scale components.The large-scale fluctuating wall shear stress is computed as the footprints of the outer turbulent motions,and the small-scale one is obtained by subtracting the large-scale one from the total,which fully remove the outer influences.We show that the statistics of the small-scale fluctuating wall shear stress is Reynolds number independent at the friction Reynolds number larger than 1000,while which is Reynolds number dependent or the low-Reynolds-number effect exists at the friction Reynolds number smaller than 1000.Therefore,a critical Reynolds number that defines the emergence of universal small-scale fluctuating wall shear stress is proposed to be 1000.The total and large-scale fluctuating wall shear stress intensities approximately follow logarithmic-linear relationships with Reynolds number,and empirical fitting expressions are given in this work.

Stationary Flow of Blood in a Rigid Vessel in the Presence of an External Magnetic Field: Considerations about the Forces and Wall Shear Stresses

The magnetohydrodynamics laws govern the motion of a conducting fluid, such as blood, in an externally applied static magnetic field B0. When an artery is exposed to a magnetic field, the blood charged particles are deviated by the Lorentz force thus inducing electrical currents and voltages along the vessel walls and in the neighboring tissues. Such a situation may occur in several biomedical applications: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic drug transport and targeting, tissue engineering… In this paper, we consider the steady unidirectional blood flow in a straight circular rigid vessel with non-conducting walls, in the presence of an exterior static magnetic field. The exact solution of Gold (1962) (with the induced fields not neglected) is revisited. It is shown that the integration over a cross section of the vessel of the longitudinal projection of the Lorentz force is zero, and that this result is related to the existence of current return paths, whose contributions compensate each other over the section. It is also demonstrated that the classical definition of the shear stresses cannot apply in this situation of magnetohydrodynamic flow, because, due to the existence of the Lorentz force, the axisymmetry is broken.

An improved wall shear stress measurement technique using sandwiched hot-film sensors

In this letter we present a novel wall shear stress measurement technique for a turbulent boundary layer using sandwiched hot-film sensors. Under certain conditions, satisfactory results can be obtained using only the heat generated by one of the hot-film and a calibration of the sensors is not required. Two thin Nickel films with the same size were used in this study, separated by an electrical insulating layer. The upper film served as a sensor and the bottom one served as a guard heater. The two Nickel films were operated at a same temperature, so that the Joule heat flux generated by the sensor film transferred to the air with a minimum loss or gain depending on the uncertainties in the film temperature measurements. Analytical solution of the shear stress based on the aforementioned heat flux was obtained. The preliminary results were promising and the estimated wall shear stresses agreed reasonablywell with the directly measured values （with errors less than 20%） in a fully developed turbulent pipe flow. The proposed technique can be improved to further increase precisions.

Numerical stress-deformation analysis of cut-off wall in clay-core rockfill dam on thick overburden

The cut-off wall in a clay-core rockfill dam built on a thick overburden layer is subjected to a large compressive pressure under the action of the loads such as the dead weight of both the dam and the overburden layer, the frictional force induced by the differential settlement between the cut-off wall and surrounding soils, and the water pressure. Thus, reduction of the stress of the cut-off wall has become one of the main problems for consideration in engineering design. In this paper, numerical analysis of a core rockfill dam built on a thick overburden layer was conducted and some factors influencing the stress-strain behaviors of the cut-off wall were investigated. The factors include the improvement of the overburden layer, the modeling approach for interfacial contact between the cut-off wall and surrounding soils, the modulus of the cut-off wall concrete, and the connected pattern between the cut-off wall and the clay core. The result shows that improving the overburden layer,selecting plastic concrete with a low modulus and high strength, and optimizing the connection between the cut-off wall and the clay core of the dam are effective measures of reducing the deformations and compressive stresses of the cut-off wall. In addition, both the Goodman element and the mud-layer element are suitable for simulating the interfacial contact between the cut-off wall and surrounding soils.

Relationship between wall shear stresses and streamwise vortices in turbulent flows over wavy boundaries

The relationship between wall shear stresses and near-wall streamwise vortices is investigated via a direct numerical simulation(DNS) of turbulent flows over a wavy boundary with traveling-wave motion. The results indicate that the wall shear stresses are still closely related to the near-wall streamwise vortices in the presence of a wave. The wave age and wave phase significantly affect the distribution of a two-point correlation coefficient between the wall shear stresses and streamwise vorticity. For the slow wave case of c/Um = 0.14, the correlation is attenuated above the leeward side while the distribution of correlation function is more elongated and also exhibits a larger vertical extent above the crest. With respect to the fast wave case of c/U_m=1.4, the distribution of the correlation function is recovered in a manner similar to that in the flat-wall case. In this case, the maximum correlation coefficient exhibits only slight differences at different wave phases while the vertical distribution of the correlation function depends on the wave phase.

Wall shear stress can improve prediction accuracy for transient ischemic attack

BACKGROUND Early prediction of transient ischemic attack (TIA) has important clinical value. To date, systematic studies on clinical, biochemical, and imaging indicators related to carotid atherosclerosis have been carried out to predict the occurrence of TIA. However, their prediction accuracy is limited. AIM To explore the role of combining wall shear stress (WSS) with conventional predictive indicators in improving the accuracy of TIA prediction. METHODS A total of 250 patients with atherosclerosis who underwent carotid ultrasonography at Naval Military Medical University Affiliated Gongli Hospital were recruited. Plaque location, plaque properties, stenosis rate, peak systolic velocity, and end diastolic velocity were measured and recorded. The WSS distribution map of the proximal and distal ends of the plaque shoulder was drawn using the shear stress quantitative analysis software, and the average values of WSS were recorded. The laboratory indicators of the subjects were recorded. The patients were followed for 4 years. Patients with TIA were included in a TIA group and the remaining patients were included in a control group. The clinical data, laboratory indicators, and ultrasound characteristics of the two groups were analyzed. Survival curves were plotted by the Kaplan-Meier method. Receiver operating characteristic curves were established to evaluate the accuracy of potential indicators in predicting TIA. Logistic regression model was used to establish combined prediction, and the accuracy of combined predictive indicators for TIA was explored.RESULTS The intraclass correlation coefficients of the WSS between the proximal and distal ends of the plaque shoulder were 0.976 and 0.993, respectively, which indicated an excellent agreement. At the end of the follow-up, 30 patients suffered TIA (TIA group) and 204 patients did not (control group). Hypertension (P = 0.037), diabetes (P = 0.026), homocysteine (Hcy)(P = 0.022), fasting blood glucose (P = 0.034), plaque properties (P = 0.000), luminal stenosis rate (P = 0.000), and proximal end WSS (P = 0.000) were independent influencing factors for TIA during follow-up. The accuracy of each indicator for predicting TIA individually was not high (area under the curve [AUC]< 0.9). The accuracy of the combined indicator including WSS (AUC = 0.944) was significantly higher than that of the combined indicator without WSS (AUC = 0.856) in predicting TIA (z = 2.177, P = 0.030). The sensitivity and specificity of the combined indicator including WSS were 86.67% and 92.16%, respectively. CONCLUSION WSS at plaque surface combined with hypertension, diabetes, Hcy, blood glucose, plaque properties, and stenosis rate can significantly improve the accuracy of predicting TIA.

Effects of Elasticity on Wall Shear Stress in Patient-Specific Aneurysm of Cerebral Artery

The behavior of wall shear stress (WSS) was previously reported in a deformable aneurysm model using fluid-structure interactions. However, these findings have not been validated. In the present study, we examined the effect of elasticity (i.e., deformation) on wall shear stress inside a cerebral aneurysm at the apex of a bifurcation using particle image velocimetry in vitro. The flow model simulated a human patient-specific aneurysm at the apex of the bifurcation of the middle cerebral artery. Flow characteristics by wall elasticity were examined for both elastic and non-deformable aneurysm models with pulsatile blood flow. The absolute temporally- and spatially-averaged WSS along the bleb wall was smaller in the elastic model than that in the non-deformable model. This small WSS may be related to attenuation of the WSS. Further, the WSS gradient had a finite value near the stagnation point of the aneurysm dome. Finally, the WSS gradient near the stagnation point was slightly smaller in the elastic model than that in the non-deformable model. These data suggest that elasticity of the aneurysm wall can affect the progression and rupture of aneurysms via hemodynamic stress.

On Mars, Location and Orientation of Dykes Exposed along the Valles Marineris Walls Reveal Expected and Unexpected Stress Fields

Structural and geomorphological analysis of the Martian surface in the visible spectral range using the NASA/Viking images in the 90’s,complemented by experimental modelling(Mège and Masson,1996a;Mège et al.,2003)suggested that the Valles Marineris trough(chasma)system is aligned with a mafic dyke swarm,named the Syria Planum Dyke Swarm.Cross-cutting relationships and

The Effect of Near-Wall Vortices on Wall Shear Stress in Turbulent Boundary Layers

The objective of the present study is to explore the relation between the near-wall vortices and the shear stress on the wall in two-dimensional channel flows. A direct numerical simulation of an incompressible two-dimensional turbulent channel flow is performed with spectral method and the results are used to examine the relation between wall shear stress and near-wall vortices. The two-point correlation results indicate that the wall shear stress is associated with the vortices near the wall and the maximum correlation-value location of the near-wall vortices is obtained. The analysis of the instantaneous diagrams of fluctuation velocity vectors provides a further expression for the above conclusions. The results of this research provide a useful supplement for the control of turbulent boundary layers.

In Vitro Evaluation of Cytotoxicity and Oxidative Stress Induced by Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes in Murine RAW 264.7 Macrophages and Human A549 Lung Cells

Objective To investigate in vitro cytotoxicity and oxidative stress response induced by multiwalled carbon nanotubes （MWCNTs）. Methods Cultured macrophages （murine RAW264.7 cells） and alveolar epithelium cells type II （human A549 lung cells） were exposed to the blank control, DNA salt control, and the MWCNTs suspensions at 2.5, 10, 25, and 100 ug/mL for 24 h. Each treatment was evaluated by cell viability, cytotoxicity and oxidative stress. Results Overall, both cell lines had similar patterns in response to the cytotoxicity and oxidative stress of MWCNTs. DNA salt treatment showed no change compared to the blank control. In both cell lines, significant changes at the doses of 25 and 100 ug/mL treatments were found in cell viabilities, cytotoxicity, and oxidative stress indexes. The reactive oxygen species （ROS） generation was also found to be significantly higher at the dose of 10 ug/mL treatment, whereas no change was seen in most of the indexes. The ROS generation in both cell lines went up in minutes, reached the climax within an hour and faded down after several hours. Conclusion Exposure to MWCNTs resulted in a dose-dependent cytotoxicity in cultured RAW264.7 cells and A549 cells, that was closely correlated to the increased oxidative stress.

Numerical Simulation of Thermal Stress Field of Water-cooled-wall Pulverized-coal Gasifiers

A local thermal stress model of water-cooled-wall pulverized-coal gasifier was built, and ANSYS was used to simulate the stress field in the gasifier operation to research the damage of refractories and slag layer caused by the thermal stress. The results reveal that:（1） the maximum stress of water-cooled-wall gasifier appears at the interface between anchor nails and refractories as well as the interface between refractories and the slag layer, and the maximum stress of slag layer appears on the surface of the slag layer;（2） the increase of slag layer thickness can significantly reduce the thermal stress at the interface between anchor nails and refractories, but increase the thermal stress between slag layer and refractories;（3） when the therma I conductivity is 2-6 W · m-1 · K-1, the thermal stress increases rapidly with the increase of the thermal conductivity, but when the thermal conductivity is 6-10 W · m-1 · K-1, the thermal stress is basically stable;（4） the higher the cooling rate, the faster the decreasing speed of the temperature and thermal stress.

Converging Parallel Plate Flow Chambers for Studies on the Effect of the Spatial Gradient of Wall Shear Stress on Endothelial Cells

Many in vitro studies focus on effects of wall shear stress (WSS) and wall shear stress gradient (WSSG) on endothelial cells, which are linked to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis in the arterial system. Limitation in available flow chambers with a constant WSSG in the testing region makes it difficult to quantify cellular responses to WSSG. The current study proposes and characterizes a type of converging parallel plate flow chamber (PPFC) featuring a constant gradient of WSS. A simple formula was derived for the curvature of side walls, which relates WSSG to flow rate (Q), height of the PPFC (h), length of the convergent section (L), its widths at the entrance (w0) and exit (w1). CFD simulation of flow in the chamber is carried out. Constant WSSG is observed in most regions of the top and bottom plates except those in close proximity of side walls. A change in Q or h induces equally proportional changes in WSS and WSSG whereas an alteration in the ratio between w0 and w1 results in a more significant change in WSSG than that in WSS. The current design makes possible an easy quantification of WSSG on endothelial cells in the flow chamber.

Residual stress modeling of thin wall by laser cladding forming

The residual stress generated in the laser cladding could lead to undesirable distortions or even crack formation. In order to better understand the evolution/yielding process of stress field,a 3 D finite-element thermo-mechanical model was established for the laser cladding formation of thin wall with the 17-4 PH powder on the FV520( B) steel. The temperature field was firstly analyzed,based on which the stress field and strain field of the laser cladding forming process were analyzed.In order to validate the prediction,the final residual stress field in the obtained thin wall was tested by X-ray diffraction in comparison with the predicted results.

A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF RADIAL INERTIA ON THE ELASTO-PLASTIC COMBINED STRESS WAVE PROPAGATION IN THIN-WALLED TUBES

An in-depth analysis of propagation characteristics ofelasto-plastic combined stress waves in circular thin-walled tubeshas been made. In obtaining the simple-wave solution, however, mostresearches have ignored the influence of the circumferential stressrelated to the radial inertial ef- fect in the tubes. In this paperthe incremental elasto-plastic constitutive relations which areconve- nient for dynamic numerical analysis are adopted, and thefinite-difference method is used to study the evolution adpropagation of elasto-plastic combined stress waves in a thin-walledtube with the radial inertial effect of the tube considered. Thecalculation results are compared with those obtained when the radialinertial effect is not considered. The calculation results show thatthe radial inertial effect of a tube has a fairly great influence onthe propagation of elasto-plastic combined stress waves.

Stress Analysis of Thin-Walled Pressure Vessels

This paper discusses the stresses developed in a thin-walled pressure vessels. Pressure vessels (cylindrical or spherical) are designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure substantially higher than the ambient pressure. Equations of static equilibrium along with the free body diagrams will be used to determine the normal stresses in the circumferential or hoop direction and in the longitudinal or axial direction. A case study of internal pressure developed in a soda can was determined by measuring the elastic strains of the surface of the soda can through strain gages attached to the can and connected to Strain indicator Vishay model 3800.

Analysis of dynamic stress intensity factors of thick-walled cylinder under internal impulsive pressure

Dynamic stress intensity factors are evaluated for thick-walled cylinder with a radial edge crack under internal impulsive pressure. Firstly, the equation for stress intensity factors under static uniform pressure is used as the reference case, and then the weight function for a thick-walled cylinder containing a radial edge crack can be worked out. Secondly, the dynamic stresses in uncracked thick-walled cylinders are solved under internal impulsive pressure by using mode shape function method. The solution consists of a quasi-static solution satisfying inhomogeneous boundary conditions and a dynamic solution satisfying homogeneous boundary condi- tions, and the history and distribution of dynamic stresses in thick-walled cylinders are derived in terms of Fourier-Bessel series. Finally, the dynamic stress intensity factor equations for thick-walled cylinder containing a radial edge crack sub- jected to internal impulsive pressure are given by dynamic weight function method. The finite element method is utilized to verify the results of numerical examples, showing the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.

Reduction of the residual stresses in cold expanded thick-walled cylinders by plastic compression

We suppose that in order to maintain high accuracy of holes and to lower residual stresses after cold expansion of thick-walled cylinders, which undergo cross-section plastic deformation, it is necessary to perform axial plastic compression and subsequent cold expansion with small interferences. To test this hypothesis, we studied hoop, radial and axial residual stresses in cylinders made of carbon steel AISI 1050 with hole diameter of 5 mm, outer diameter of 15 mm and length of 30 mm by Sachs method as well as accuracy of expanded holes. It is found that double cold expansion with total interference equal to 5.1% generates hoop residual stresses with largest absolute value equal to 284 MPa and ensures high holes accuracy(IT7). After plastic compression with strain equal to 0.5 and 1% the mentioned stresses reduced to 120 and 75 MPa respectively,and accuracy of the holes reduced as well. Subsequent cold expansion with small interference equal to 0.9% helps to restore holes accuracy(IT7)gained by double cold expansion and ensure that absolute value of hoop residual stresses(177 MPa) is lower compared to double cold expansion.

Combined stress waves with phase transition in thin-walled tubes

The incremental constitutive relation and governing equations with combined stresses for phase transition wave propagation in a thin-walled tube are established based on the phase transition criterion considering both the hydrostatic pressure and the deviatoric stress. It is found that the centers of the initial and subsequent phase transition ellipses are shifted along the sigma-axis in the sigma tau-plane due to the tension-compression asymmetry induced by the hydrostatic pressure. The wave solution offers the 'fast' and 'slow' phase transition waves under combined longitudinal and torsional stresses in the phase transition region. The results show some new stress paths and wave structures in a thin-walled tube with phase transition, differing from those of conventional elastic-plastic materials.