Fully Coupled vs. Partially Coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction Methods for Patient-Specific Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Biomechanics

Primary among the mechanical factors linked with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture is peak wall stress, frequently quantified as either the maximum principal or Von Mises stress exerted along the diseased arterial wall. Intraluminal pressure, as an impinging normal force on the wall, has been hypothesized as the dominant influence on this stress and thus the majority of numerical modeling studies of AAA mechanics have focused on static computational solid stress (CSS) predictions [1,2]. Unfortunately, retrospective studies comparing the magnitude of wall stress with the failure strength of the aneurysmal wall have yet to consistently predict the outcome for patient-specific AAAs [3,4]. Previous studies have shown that hemodynamics also plays a significant role in both the biological and mechanical factors that exist within AAAs. In the present investigation, partially and fully coupled fluid-structure interaction (p-FSI and f-FSI, respectively) computations of patient-specific AAA models are presented and compared to identify the effect of fluid flow in the biomechanical environment of these aneurysms.