Analysis of the directional and spectral distributions of kinetic energy in aortic blood flow

It has been recognized that blood flow in large vessels, such as the aorta, may undergo a transition to turbulent flow in the presence of cardiovascular disorders, while flow in the healthy aorta is perceived to be laminar under normal physiological conditions. However, this perception has been challenged by several studies, highlighting the need to consider more fundamental flow characterizations. The present study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the directional and spectral distributions of kinetic energy in aortic flows under normal and pathological conditions. For this purpose, large-eddy simulation results for two patient-specific aortas, representing a healthy aorta and an aorta with aortic valve stenosis, respectively, were analyzed by decomposing the resolved transient velocity fields into directional and frequency components. It is shown that fundamental characteristics, such as the distinctive role of harmonics of the cardiac cycle as well as intermediate frequencies, indicate complex flow structures and turbulence over the entire thoracic aorta in both cases. The high-frequency components of kinetic energy are found to decrease by more than one order of magnitude from regions associated with complex flow features to the descending aorta. In conclusion, the capability of such analyses to effectively describe complex aortic blood flow at physiological and pathological conditions is demonstrated and motivates further efforts to achieve a more fundamental understanding of the true nature of aortic blood flow.