SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SEMINAR
Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 14:30
Wolfson Building of Mechanical Engineering, Room 206
Numerical Modelling of Spatial Porosity and Asymmetry Impact on Maternal Blood Flow and Oxygen Transport in the Placenta
Tirosh Mekler
M.Sc. student of Gil Marom
The human placenta is a complex organ whose function is not fully understood because clinical studies are restricted by ethical constraints, limited imaging resolution, and availability of the organ. A computational fluid dynamics model of maternal hemodynamics and oxygenation patterns is proposed to better understand the complexity of placenta biomechanics. The objectives of this study are to find how morphological variations in the fetal villi density and in the number and locations of the decidual veins (DVs) affect the hemodynamics and oxygenation. A commonly used approach for numerically simulating the maternal blood flow inside the intervillous space is to model the flow that percolates through the villi branches as a flow through a porous medium. Unlike previous studies that assumed homogeneous porosity, the main structure of the villous tree was included in the current model, and the porosity was spatially distributed. The oxygen uptake inside the placenta was compared for different porosity values. Additionally, various morphologies with different asymmetries were examined, such as different locations and the number of DVs. The internal structure has a significant impact on the flow field and oxygen uptake, as demonstrated by a comparison of several cases with equal volumetric porosity but different spatial distributions of local porosity. The location of DVs and their asymmetric distribution also have a major effect on the oxygen distribution. Specifically, if there are two DVs close to each other or several DVs that contribute to the “short circuit” effect of the maternal blood. Computational modeling is proving to be a valuable tool for investigating the flow mechanics and mass transport in the human placenta. The oxygenation efficiency of the materno-placental circulation is undoubtedly affected by morphological changesJoin
Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82108132163?pwd=Z2h4UzNzUS9mbXplT0lMU1pZenFEQT09
