Constructal Design of an Idealize Arterial Bypass Graft: Effect of the Bypass Attachment Pointon Resistance to Flow

This paper aims to investigate, through the 3D numerical analysis of an idealized arterial bypass graft, the dependence of the resistance to flow on the bypass insertion point. The computational model assumes a laminar steady-state Newtonian fluid flow and three different Reynolds numbers: 150, 250, and 400. In this study, the constructal theory has been employed, a selfstanding law in physics which covers the statement of minimum flow resistance to optimize morphing architectures, i.e. the coronary artery bypass grafting. According to the Constructal Design method, the constraints are stenosis degree, junction angle, and diameter ratio, while the attachment point is defined as a design parameter. The results demonstrate that the distance between the bypass attachment point and the stenosis influences the pressure drop; more specifically, the pressure drop decreases with the augmentation of the distance. In this regard, a different distribution of the mass flows between the bypass, and the artery is observed and seemed to be the main reason for that behavior. The application of the Constructal Design method in hemodynamics is a tool to describe the biological system to search for better flow performance since it is based on the natural evolution of living systems.