ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the interaction between blood and a blood vessel. In particular, the focus of the study is the aneurysm. An aneurysm is a focal dilation of a blood vessel, which may rupture, leading to death of the patient. The chapter presents the results of a numerical study to determine the effects of material properties of a three-dimensional, idealized, three-layer abdominal aorta on aneurysm initiation and fully developed aneurysm. The material modeling of the healthy abdominal aorta without any degeneration or aneurysm was compared to the already-developed aneurysm model in terms of stress-strain characteristics. The material property of the vessel did not change the qualitative distribution of the von Mises stress in the intact or aneurysmal vessels as well as the magnitude of increase in von Mises stresses from intact to aneurysmal vessels.