Numerical simulation of the thrombus flow and its influences in blood vessels

Objective:To study the effect of the blood flow patterns change on thrombus formation; and to study the impact of presence of thrombus on the vascular wall pressure and the wall shear stress. Methods: Computational fluid dynamics(CFD) software was used to establish simplified 2D vessel models, and the two-phase flow of blood and thrombus was simulated to study the rules of the thrombus flow as well as the influence of the size, and the influencethe blocking rate and different forms of thrombus on the vascular wall. Furthermore, the regions prone to thrombus formation were analyzed and predicted. Results: Research showed that the flow pattern of different presence forms and sizes of thrombus varied, and it was related to blood flow rate. Conclusion: Presence of thrombus can lead to pressure change and increased wall shear stress, causing damage to the vascular intimal. Thrombus in the low-speed regions near the site of the blockage are likely to form and the risk of thrombus formation is higher with the increasing of occlusion rate.