Hemodynamic Structure around Flow Model Simulated Renal Arterial Branch

The arterial branch from abdominal aorta to renal artery is one of the predilection sites of atherosclerosis. In the present study, we have experimentally studied the velocity profile and the wall shear stress at laminar steady flow in a flow model simulated the renal arterial branch where the side branch asymmetrically bifurcates from the trunk at right angle with a round upstream corner. The wall shear stress is estimated from the velocity gradient on the basis of the velocity. The flow situation from the abdominal aorta to the renal artery is characterized by the distribution of wall shear stress around the entrance of side branch. The wall shear stress along the upstream corner of side branch varies with large amplitude of several times more than the wall shear stress of the Poiseuille flow in the upstream trunk. The large gradient of wall shear stress along the upstream corner is closely associated with the initiation of atherosclerosis.