A computational fluid-structure interaction analysis of a fiber-reinforced stentless aortic valve

The importance of the aortic root compliance in the aortic valve performancehas most frequently been ignored in computational valve modeling,although it has a significant contribution to thefunctionality of the valve.Aortic root aneurysm or (calcific) stiffeningseverely affectsthe aortic valve behaviour and, consequently, the cardiovascular regulation.The compromised mechanical and hemodynamicalperformance of the valve are difficult to study both 'invivo' and 'in vitro'. Computational analysis of the valve enables astudy on system responses that are difficult to obtain otherwise.In this paper a numerical model of a fiber-reinforced stentless aortic valveis presented.In the evaluation of its clinical functioning the interactionof the valve with the blood is essenti! al.Hence, the blood-tissue interaction is incorporated in the model using acombined fictitious domain/arbitrary Lagrange-Euler formulation, which isintegrated within the Galerkin finite element method.The model can serve as a diagnostic tool for clinicalpurposes and as a design tool for improving existing valve prostheses ordeveloping new concepts.Structural mechanical and fluid dynamical aspects are analyzedduring the course of the cardiac cycle.Results show that aortic root compliance largely influences the valve opening and closingconfigurations.Stresses in the delicate parts of the leaflets are substantially reducedif fiber-reinforcement is applied and the aortic root is able to expand