Numerical modelling of blood vessel constriction due to peripheral artery disease using finite volume method

Atherosclerosis is the narrowing of blood vessels caused by the buildup of plaque on the walls of blood vessels. These plaques are formed from deposits of substances such as fat, calcium and cholesterol. The effect of plaque buildup in blood vessels is to disrupt of the circulatory system, thus affecting the pressure and speed of blood flow. Long-term atherosclerosis can lead to peripheral arterial disease because blood flow in the limbs is disrupted. This study aims to analyze blood flow in narrowed arterial vessels that cause peripheral arterial disease. Computational Fluid Dynamics is used to solve the problem by determining the effect of pressure and velocity on the narrowing of blood vessels. Simulations were conducted to determine the effect of pressure and velocity on stenosis. In this study, a mathematical model was created that was solved using the finite volume method with SIMPLE (Semi Implicit Method for Pressure Linked Equations) discretization. The software used for the simulation process is MATLAB to visualize the velocity and pressure graphs, while Fluent to visualize the blood flow. K-means clustering is used to see the color distribution in the simulation results. The results of MATLAB and FLUENT simulations show that the graph shows the highest velocity obtained from blood vessels that have 60% stenosis thickness with velocities in FLUENT and MATLAB of 0.71 m/s and 0.65386 m/s, respectively. Then in the simulation graph, the lowest velocity is obtained from the blood vessels that have the smallest stenosis thickness of 20% with velocities of 0.38 m/s and 0.510783604 m/s. Then the most risky stenosis for blood vessel rupture is 60% stenosis thickness because the velocity has exceeded 0.6 m/s. Meanwhile, the effect of stenosis thickness on pressure shows a significant decrease in pressure experienced by 60% stenosis thickness in FLUENT and MATLAB, namely 10,860 Pa and 11,950 Pa. Then the smallest pressure drop occurs at 20% stenosis thickness which is 11,100 Pa and 12,040 Pa. The simulation results show that if the stenosis is greater the blood velocity is higher. Meanwhile, if the stenosis is greater the blood pressure is smaller. Based on the results of the research, the analysis of velocity and pressure in narrowing blood vessels due to peripheral arterial disease with SIMPLE discretization needs to be further developed by taking into account other influential factors and the completion of discretization can be developed with other metho