Pressure Wave Propagation in Liquid-Filled Tubes of Viscoelastic Material

The propagation of small-amplitude waves in a thick-walled long viscoelastic tube of variable cross-section, filled with a viscous incompressible fluid, is considered with account for wave reflection at the tube end in application to arterial pulse wave propagation. A solution is obtained in the form of expansions in a small parameter. The effect of the coefficient of wave reflection at the tube end and the wall material parameters on the fluid volume flow-rate and the tube wall displacement is investigated. It is shown that the volume flow-rate phase spectrum characteristics depend only slightly on the wall properties and can be used in clinical diagnostics for finding the reflection coefficient from pressure and flow-rate records