Reduction of Pressure Gradient and Turbulence Using Vortex Generators in Prosthetic Heart Valves.

ABSTRACT: Blood damage and platelet activation are inherent problems with present day bi-leaflet mechanical heart valve designs. Passive flow control through different arrangements of vortex generators (VG) as means of improving pressure gradients and reducing turbulence are investigated. Rectangular VG arrays were mounted on the downstream surfaces of a 23 mm 3D printed mechanical valve. The effect of VGs on the resulting flow structures were assessed under pulsatile physiological flow conditions where high resolution particle image velocimetry measurement was performed. The co-rotating VGs showed lower Reynolds shear stresses and improved pressure gradients (PG) compared with the counter-rotating ones and the no-VG control one (that showed higher turbulence). RSS was found 38.13 ± 0.89, 12.95 ± 0.

SUBMITTER: Hatoum H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6408289 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature