Fluid-structure interaction analysis of representative left coronary artery models with different angulations

The aim of this study is to elucidate the correlation between coronary artery angulation and local mechanical forces at the vicinity of bifurcation using a coupled fluid-structure interaction (FSI) modelling approach. Four representative left coronary arteries with different angles ranging from 75° to 120° were used to demonstrate the relation between circumferential stress and angulation. In order to increase simulation fidelity, the arterial wall was modelled as an isotropic hyperelastic material, and physiologically reasonable waveforms were imposed at the boundaries. The results show that circumferential stress is positively correlated with left coronary artery angulation. In addition, the hemodynamic differences between the FSI modelling and rigid wall modelling was also addressed and analysed through comparing those two modelling techniques. The instantaneous wall shear stress (WSS) distributions were substantially affected by the arterial wall compliance.