Group 2

University of Tennessee
Biomedical Engineering 449
Knoxville, TN 37996

November 4, 2021

1512 Middle Dr
Knoxville, TN 37996

Dear Dr. Sarles,

The following contains our report on the study of fluid dynamics of cardiovascular disease. The objective
of this laboratory was to evaluate the effects of plaque buildup in human arteries in comparison to healthy
blood vessels. The use of both a straight and stenosis 3D-printed model allowed us to measure the voltage
at multiple points along the tube, which was part of a mock circulatory flow loop, with the peristaltic
pump serving as the heart. These voltages were converted to pressure values and subsequently used to
determine characteristics of flow across multiple points and flow rates.

In reporting our findings, Bryce wrote the background section, Kinley wrote the experimental methods
section, Peyton calculated and described the results, Braxton wrote the discussion, and Jack wrote the
cover letter, abstract, and conclusion.

Sincerely,

Braxton Heard
Signature of Team Member 1

Kinley Koontz
Kinley Koontz

Bryce Manner
Bryce Manner

Jack Oberman
Jack Oberman

Peyton Poppell
Peyton Poppell

Preparation of Reports for BME 449 Laboratory
Course
Braxton Heard, Kinley Koontz, Bryce Manner,
Jack Oberman, Peyton Poppell (MABE, University
of Tennessee, Knoxville)
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this lab was to model a human
heart in order to measure the differences between
healthy and partially blocked blood vessels. This
was done through the use of 3D-printed arteries
with multiple points to measure pressure, as well
as a peristaltic pump, which served as the
experimental heart. We were able to take voltage
readings and convert them to pressure values,
which we used along with the dimensions of the
tube and the flow rates set on the peristaltic pump
to determine the Reynolds number and velocity of
multiple points along the models. We found that
flow was laminar for both the upstream and
downstream ports on the straight and stenosis tube
at a rate of half a liter of fluid per minute, but
turbulent for the stenosis port. Additionally, at a
rate of one liter per minute, all of the ports were
found to have turbulent flow.
INTRODUCTION
This experiment involved the usage of
fluid dynamics and blood flow in order to calculate
fluid related parameters. A simplified stenosis
model was used to demonstrate blood flow in the
aortic valve. This model allowed for the study of
the relationships between flow rate, velocity,
pressure, Reynolds number, conservation of mass,
and Bernoulli equations. In this experiment, a
VWR Peristaltic Pump was used to create a
constant flow rate to be distributed throughout the
system at a designated flow rate. This pump
simulated the opening and closing of the aortic
valve by using a triangular piece to spin and pinch
the tube to regulate the amount of flow going
through the system. The stenosis pump was used to
simulate various cardiovascular diseases that affect
a significant portion of the population including
atherosclerosis and aortic valve disease. The fluid
was pumped through a series of silicone tubes with
a sensor in the middle to collect voltage data. The
experiment was conducted based upon an upstream
and downstream differentiation, with the location
of the sensor based upon where the flow is located.
A stenosis port was used to simulate a blockage in
the artery which allowed for the comparison of
flow. Following the collection of data, the
conservation of mass equation was used in order to
calculate theoretical velocities and Reynold’s
numbers. The Poiseuille equation was used to
predict the pressure drop in the tube to be
compared to the experimental results. The
Bernoulli equation was used to find theoretical
pressures for the stenosis region to be compared to
experimental results. Overall, this experiment
allowed for the study of flow rate in a simulation
similar to that of the human heart which
demonstrated the differences in flow for a healthy
heart and a blocked heart.
METHODS
For this lab, the methods were
straightforward in that the equipment was set up in
the lab already. The peristaltic pump was
connected to the ID tubing which one side was in a
fluid reservoir and the other side ran into the pulse
dampener which connected to the inlet of the
stenosis model. The outlet of the stenosis model is
connected to another tube that flows into the
output water reservoir. The first port in the stenosis
was connected to the Grainger pressure transducer
while the other ports were clamped with hemostats.
The pressure transducer was connected to a
computer through a USB attached to a DAQ board.
This allowed measurments to be seen and taken
from the computer interface.
 Before data was collected, the National the upstream port was clamped. The flow loop
Intruments DAQ express software was opened and was then drained by removing the inlet tube from
“Analog Input” was pressed to collect new data. the fluid reservoir while the peristaltic pump
The voltage input bounds were changed to continued to run to allow air to be pumped through
minimum = 0V and maximum = 3V and the power the flow loop and remove any excess water.
supply was turned on using the switch on the back,
“output” was pushed on the front of the power
supply, and set to ~12 Volts. The data was then
collected by clicking ‘Record (Timed)’ and the
time was set to 2 seconds.

The peristaltic pump then needed to be

calibrated which was done through the following
method. The outlet end reservior was emptied and
a phone timer was set to record how much time it
took for the pump to fill it to 0.5L at 50, 100, and
150 rpms. The time was then divided by 0.5 to get
the flow rate which was plotted in excel and a
linear fit analysis was performed. This can be
found in the Appendix, Figure 1. It was determined
that in order to get 0.5L/min the RPM needed to be
set to 84 and for 1L/min it needed to be set to 168
RPM.

Once the calibration was complete, the

straight tube and stenosis pressure-flow rate study
was ready to commence. First, straight tube model
Figure 1: A) Straight Tube Model and B)
(A in Fig. 1) was connected to the Pressure
Stenosis Model
Transducer through the upstream port and the
downstream port was clamped with a hemostat.
The straight tube model was then replaced
The 500mL reservoir was filled with water and
with the stenosis model, B in Figure 1. All steps
both ends of the flow loop tubes were submerged
for the straight tube were repeated with the stenosis
into the reservoir. The pump was started and data
model and the three ports that were on it. A total of
was not collected until all air bubbles were out of
10, 2 second recordings were made across the two
the system. Once the system had achieved a
models and two flow rates. This data was then
“steady state”, 2 seconds of voltage data was
exported from the DAQ interface to a .csv file that
recorded and export it into Excel. Once the data
was opened in Excel.
was in Excel, the pressure-voltage calibration was
used to convert all of the values into pressures. CALCULATIONS
Additionally, the average pressure over the 2
seconds of recorded data was calculated for each The first step in analysis was converting
measurement location to account for flow voltage data to pressure using the provided
variability. This process was repeated for the 168 Pressure Transducer calibration in Figure 2.
RPM flow rate at the upstream port and then both
flow rates were tested at the downstream port as
 additional head loss term (hL in Eq. 6) and
compared to the theoretical Bernoulli calculations
and to those found experimentally:
2 2
𝑃1 𝑉1 𝑃2 𝑉2
ρ𝑔
+ 2𝑔
+ 𝑧1 = ρ𝑔
+ 2𝑔
+ 𝑧2 + 𝐻𝐿 (𝐸𝑞. 6)

RESULTS

Before performing any tests, a calibration

Figure 2: Pressure Transducer Calibration
Then, the equations for Conservation of
Mass (Eqs. 1 and 2), experimental pump flow
rates, and straight tube and stenosis model
dimensions were used to calculate the theoretical
velocities and Reynolds numbers (Eq. 3) at each
pressure port location and flow condition.
ṁ = ρ1𝑉1𝐴1 (𝐸𝑞. 1)
ρ𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡𝐴𝑜𝑢𝑡 = ρ𝑉𝑖𝑛𝐴𝑖𝑛 (𝐸𝑞. 2)
ρ𝑉𝐷
𝑅𝑒 = µ
(𝐸𝑞. 3)
The Poiseuille equation (Eq. 4) was then used to
predict the pressure drop in the straight tube
model and compared to experimental results.
of the peristaltic pump was done in order to find
the appropriate pump flow rate to obtain a
volumetric flow rate of 0.5 L/min and 1 L/min.
This was done by running the straight pump at 50
RPM, 100 RPM and 150 RPM and measuring the
amount of time it took for the system to pump 0.5
L of water. The results of this calibration are
shown in figure 1 of the appendix. The slope of
this calibration represents the conversion factor
between RPM and Flow Rate. In order to get 0.5
L/min, the pump must be set to 84 RPM, and to get
1 L/min the pump must be set to 168 RPM. The
pressure transducer calibration was determined
previously, and this was used to convert the
average voltage quantities to pressures. Two
different tubes were tested: a straight tube and a
50% stenosis model.
Table 1: Experimentally tested straight tube
pressures with experimental pressure change

8𝜇𝐿𝑉 Straight Tube Pressures (mmHg)

∆𝑃 = 2 (𝐸𝑞. 4)
𝑅
0.5 L/min 1 L/min
Then, the Bernoulli Equation (Eq. 5) was used to
Upstream Downstrea Upstream Downstrea
determine the theoretical pressure within the m m
stenosis region and compared to experimental
results. 23.43 15.92 33.25 11.12

𝑃1
2
𝑉1 𝑃2
2
𝑉2
ΔP 7.51 ΔP 22.13
ρ𝑔
+ 2𝑔
+ 𝑧1 = ρ𝑔
+ 2𝑔
+ 𝑧2 (𝐸𝑞. 5)
Overall, the downstream pressures were smaller
The frictional losses were calculated by including than the upstream.
an
Table 2: Calculated values for straight tube tests
 The calculated values in table 2 are the same for
Straight Tube Calculated Values the stenosis calculated values for the upstream
port. These values were used to calculate the
0.5 L/min 1 L/min velocity and Reynolds number at the middle and
downstream port
Velocity (m/s) 0.4244 0.8488
Table 4: Calculated values of the stenosis tube at
Mass flow 0.0083 0.0166
rate (kg/s) the middle port and the downstream port
Middle Downstream
Reynolds 1622 3244
Number 0.5 1 0.5 1 L/min
L/min L/min L/min
ΔP (mmHg) 21.76 43.52
Velocity 1.70 3.39 0.4245 0.849
The flow velocity, mass flow rate, and Reynolds (m/s)
number during the smaller volumetric flow rate are
Reynolds 3242 6483 1622 3244
smaller than the bigger volumetric flow rate, which
number
is expected. The Reynolds number for the 0.5
L/min volumetric flow shows laminar flow and
The velocity for both flows increases during the
turbulent flow for the 1 L/min volumetric flow.
stenosis region and then lowers back down to
The experimental pressure drops are smaller than
almost the same velocity as the upstream port. The
the calculated pressure drops. This could be from
Reynolds number for both flows during the middle
air not being taken through the damper, air getting
port show turbulent flow, and laminar flow for the
trapped where the pressure transducer is connected
slower volumetric flow rate at the downstream port
to the tube, or the hemostat not clamping the port
and turbulent flow at the faster flow rate.
of the straight tube that is not being measured by
the pressure transducer well enough. Table 5: Experimental and theoretical comparison
of the middle port pressures
Table 3: Experimentally evaluated pressures of the
stenosis tube at the upstream, middle and Stenosis Region Pressure (mmHg)
downstream ports
0.5 L/min 1 L/min
Stenosis Tube Pressures (mmHg)
Experimental 18.03 10.76
.5 L/min 1 L/min
Theoretical 32.29 54.73
Up Mid Down Up Mid Down
Head Loss (ℎ𝐿) 14.26 44.01
42.38 18.03 23.47 95.08 10.76 32.98

The calculated values for the stenosis region in the

During both volumetric flows, the upstream port
tube are bigger than the experimental values, and
has the biggest pressure, the middle has the
the head loss is a significant amount. This is due to
smallest and the downstream port has higher
the fact that the theoretical values were calculated
pressures than the middle port, but not as big as the
with the assumption that there is no friction in the
upstream port.
3D printed tube. This could also be from the air not
getting completely pulled from the tube by the
damper, air being stuck in the port or the hemostat (see Table 5), although very large in the
not clamping the opposite port enough. experimental model, is fairly accurate in that
you’re getting a significant decrease in blood
DISCUSSION pressure as the blood approaches the heart. This
overtime, can lead to the formation of blood clots
As seen in the results, the experiment does in these arteries as well as a heart failure over time.
an adequate job of giving a relatively fluid model
of carotid artery stenosis and aortic valve stenosis. CONCLUSION
As seen in Table 1, upstream flow pressures were
higher than those. This measurement is expected, In summation, we were able to successfully study
as the 3D model is meant to constrict the flow of the effects of stenotic blood flow, which can be
the water. This would naturally cause the pressure brought on by atherosclerosis and aortic valve
to decrease as well, which can be seen in Table 2. disease. We compared these results to those of our
Experimental values for the pressure in the stenosis healthy model to determine how the buildup of
greatly differed, but experimental conditions plaque statistically affects the relationships
prevented us from accurately measuring these between velocity, pressure, and flow rate. We
values. Some of the limitations included air controlled the flow rate using a peristaltic pump
bubbles in the pump that could have originated and measured the pressure as a voltage reading
from the hemostat not fullying restricting air flow using the pressure transducer and determined the
to the other measurement valves as well as the velocity using Conservation of Mass equations. We
inner friction of the 3D printed models. Usually subsequently determined the Reynolds number and
when looking at carotid artery stenosis, calcium found differences between the measured values
buildup is to blame for the increase in pressure of and the theoretical values we calculated.
the artery(1). In the experiment however, while the
3D model does have a similar area to that of a REFERENCES
clogged artery, it does not exist in the same
Gerami H, Javadi M, Hosseini SK, Maljaei MB,
environment as it would be in the body, which
Fakhrzadeh H. Coronary artery stenosis and
explains why the results differed so much.
associations with indicators of anthropometric and
diet in patients undergoing coronary angiography.
However, when looking at the 3D model
J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2018;17(2):203-210.
simulating the intended narrowing of the arteries, Published 2018 Nov 1.
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follow. In Table 3 and 4, pressure and velocity
differences from the midstream and downstream
ports show a decrease as the water flows through
them. This is important because not only does this
show the system is working but it actually helps to
explain the formation of blood clots and red blood
cell damage. When the artery narrows, the blood
cells begin to flow closer together, which allows
for an increase in velocity as the blood enters the
heart. If this velocity is too fast, which can be seen
in Table 4, excess blood flows into the heart and
causes an issue in the flow and rhythm at which
the heart beats. In addition to that, the head loss
Appendix

Figure 1: Peristaltic Pump Calibration