Flow Effects on Transport Processes in Arteries and through the Arterial Wall

Mass transport in the cardiovascular system is mathematically described applying the convection dominant diffusion equations. The occurring high Peclet number expresses the strong hyperbolic character of the diffusion equation and requires appropriate numerical techniques (stabilization, special element configurations). The transport in the wall uses specific models including convection and diffusion, as well as reaction of chemical reactive macromolecules across the tissue. Further models describe the flow effect on the concentration of platelet-active substances. The reaction kinetics and the transport are modelled mathematically with a coupled system of convective diffusion equations with specific reaction terms. The Navier-Stokes equations and the transport equations are treated numerically using the finite element method.