Reflection and transmission of nonlinear waves from arterial branching

Abstract

In this work, treating the arteries as a prestressed thin walled elastic tube and the blood as an inviscid fluid, we have studied the reflection and transmission of nonlinear waves from arterial branching, through the use of reductive perturbation method. The reflected and the transmitted waves at the bifurcation point are calculated in terms of the incident wave. The numerical results indicate that the reflected wave is comparatively small whereas the transmitted waves in branches are comparable with the incident wave. This result is quite consistent with the experimental measurements [N. Sergiopulos, M. Spiridon, F. Pythoud, J.J. Meister, On wave transmission and reflection properties of stenosis, J. Biomechanics 26 (1996) 31-38].