FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF FLOW INDUCED VIBRATIONS ON STENT

Abstract

Stents are spring like structures used to support weak arteries and to keep the blocked arteries open. But the problem with the stents is that the blockage reoccurs at the site after a certain period of time (restenosis). To stop the restenosis from occurring, different kinds of stents are used, one such stent is Double Layer Stent. This study mainly focuses on the comparison of Double Layer Stent with Single Layer Stent (or just stent). Double Layer Stent is the two layered stent (one inside another), where the external layer of stent which is in the contact of artery, is used to support the artery. Meanwhile the internal layer of stent is used to vibrate to not let the plaque deposit on the site. The study of blood flow inside arteries implanted with stents is necessary in order to obtain close to real situations as the shear stresses acting on the artery and stent walls play a major role in their damage. The blood is a non-Newtonian fluid with pulsatile flow in artery vessels of complex geometry and elasticity. The simulations are done with the help of CFD software. The simulations are first done on Double Layer Stent, then on the single layer stent. These simulations are then compared with each other