Stress distribution of the arterial wall is an important factor in biomechanics of arteries. It has been suggested that excessive stress leads to arterial degeneration and lesion formation. In addition to circumferential tensile stress caused by luminal pressure, arterial wall contains circumferential residual stress with compressive and tensile components with maximum values on intima and adventitia respectively. The compressive residual stress component compensates part of maximum tensile stress, and therefore decreases severity of tension on endothelial lining. If an arterial ring is cut in radial direction it opens. The degree of opening angle is a determinant of circumferential residual stress. In this investigation, Finite element modeling was used to evaluate circumferential residual stress in a typical model of cross section of human aorta with differing opening angle and Young’s modulus of elasticity. Results show that residual stress values are influenced by structural and mechanical parameters. Elevation of the opening angle and stiffening of the arterial wall resulted in increase of residual stress level.

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