THERMAL EFFECTS ON FLUID FLOW THROUGH CURVED ARTERIES

Atherosclerotic plaque formation and aneurysms are substantially affected by fluid flow through arteries and its subsequent effect on the shear stress. In some medical treatments such as thermal ablation or endovenous ablation, heat transfer can affect fluid flow due to the temperature-dependent viscosity. In this paper, heat transfer effects on fluid flow through curved arteries are computationally simulated. Coupled mass, momentum and energy equations are solved subject to appropriate boundary conditions. Different rheological models are investigated by considering the viscosity variation with temperature. Results are presented for different size arteries and heating conditions, revealing for which cases temperature has a remarkable effect on flow field and shear stress.