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A three-dimensional finite element method for nonlinear finite elasticity is presented using prolate spheroidal coordinates. For a thick-walled ellipsoidal model of passive anisotropic left ventricle, a high-order (cubic Hermite) mesh with 3 elements gave accurate continuous stresses and strains, with a 69 percent savings in degrees of freedom (dof) versus a 70-element standard low-order model. A custom mixed-order model offered 55 percent savings in dof and 39 percent savings in solution time compared with the low-order model. A nonsymmetric 3D model of the passive canine LV was solved using 16 high-order elements. Continuous nonhomogeneous stresses and strains were obtained within 1 hour on a laboratory workstation, with an estimated solution time of less than 4 hours to model end-systole. This method represents the first practical opportunity to solve large-scale anatomically detailed models for cardiac stress analysis.
Costa et al. (Fri,) studied this question.