V. Deplano et al., 2-DIMENSIONAL AND 3-DIMENSIONAL FLOW SIMULATIONS IN A BIFURCATION MODEL, European journal of mechanics. B, Fluids, 13(6), 1994, pp. 731-751
In order to establish the importance of the secondary flow inside a sy
mmetrical bifurcation the problem is numerically simulated using a fin
ite element method for both two- and three-dimensions. The model is a
simplified aortic bifurcation model with a branching angle of 60 degre
es, a branch-to-trunk area ratio of 0.8 and rectangular cross sections
. A comparison between the two- and the three-dimensional predictions
shows that, in the range of the physiological Reynolds number values,
the 2D simulations are inadequate for representing the flow characteri
stics. Moreover, depending on the Reynolds number values, for this geo
metrical model we can observe a complex structure of the secondary flo
w with two minor vortices in addition to the pattern of the two major
vortices.