Validation of a simplified mathematical model for the stress analysis of human aortic heart valves

Validation studies to justify comparatively simple modeling of human aortic heart valves for the purposes of stress analysis are described. The effects of including the adjacent portion of the aorta along with the leaflet in the mathematical model and of incorporating geometric nonlinearities into the formulation are examined and it is concluded that a linear analysis of the leaflet alone is conservative from the standpoint of the determination of the magnitude of the stresses within the leaflet.