Two-dimensional FSI simulation of closing dynamics of a tilting disk mechanical heart valve

The fluid dynamics during valve closure resulting in high shear flows and large residence times of particles has been implicated in platelet activation and thrombus formation in mechanical heart valves. Our previous studies with bileaflet valves have shown that large shear stresses induced in the gap between the leaflet edge and valve housing results in relatively high platelet activation levels, whereas flow between the leaflets results in shed vortices not conducive to platelet damage. In this study we compare the result of closing dynamics of a tilting disk valve with that of a bileaflet valve. The two-dimensional fluid-structure interaction analysis of a tilting disk valve closure mechanics is performed with a fixed grid Cartesian mesh flow solver with local mesh refinement, and a Lagrangian particle dynamic analysis for computation of potential for platelet activation. Throughout the simulation the flow remains in the laminar regime, and the flow through the gap width is marked by the development of a shear layer, which separates from the leaflet downstream of the valve. Zones of recirculation are observed in the gap between the leaflet edge and valve housing on the major orifice region of the tilting disk valve and are seen to be migrating toward the minor orifice region. Jet flow is observed at the minor orifice region and a vortex is formed, which sheds in the direction of fluid motion, as observed in experiments using PIV measurements. The activation parameter computed for the tilting disk valve at the time of closure was found to be 2.7 times greater than that of the bileaflet mechanical valve and was found to be in the vicinity of the minor orifice region, mainly due to the migration of vortical structures from the major to the minor orifice region during the leaflet rebound of the closing phase.