Buckling of Arteries With Noncircular Cross Sections: Theory and Finite Element Simulations

Abstract

The stability of blood vessels is essential for maintaining the normal arterial function, and loss of stability may result in blood vessel tortuosity. The previous theoretical models of artery buckling were developed for circular vessel models, but arteries often demonstrate geometric variations such as elliptic and eccentric cross-sections. The objective of this study was to establish the theoretical foundation for noncircular blood vessel bent (i.e., lateral) buckling and simulate the buckling behavior of arteries with elliptic and eccentric cross-sections using finite element analysis. A generalized buckling equation for noncircular vessels was derived and finite element analysis was conducted to simulate the artery buckling behavior under lumen pressure and axial tension. The arterial wall was modeled as a thick-walled cylinder with hyper-elastic anisotropic and homogeneous material. The results demonstrated that oval or eccentric cross-section increases the critical buckling pressure of arteries and having both ovalness and eccentricity would further enhance the effect. We conclude that variations of the cross-sectional shape affect the critical pressure of arteries. These results improve the understanding of the mechanical stability of arteries.

Inelastic effects in bulge formation of inflated polymer tubes

“…by providing a fixed axial stretch, the tubes may also buckle upon inflation. [13][14][15][16] Previous articles by Fu and coauthors have provided a succinct summary of the sequence of research starting from the 1960s regarding bulging of elastic tubes. 10,17 However, these limiting cases are overly-simplistic and more complex behavior may appear, as illustrated in Fig.…”

“…by providing a fixed axial stretch, the tubes may also buckle upon inflation. 13–16 Previous articles by Fu and coauthors have provided a succinct summary of the sequence of research starting from the 1960s regarding bulging of elastic tubes. 10,17…”