BIME 320 – FLUID MECHANICS
COMPUTER-BASED GROUP ASSIGNMENT # 13
Due: Wed, Apr 30th, 2025
Note: This is a group assignment – please work in groups of 5 members. You must hand in a single
assignment with the names of all participants listed, as well as clearly indicate what the contribution
of each member has been. Once completed, please upload your completed assignment into the
Dropbox folder in myCourses.
In this assignment you will explore the relative contribution of kinetic, potential and frictional
energies to the pressure drop across a stenosis, using the idealized stenosis model shown above,
which portrays a normal vessel of diameter D featuring a stenosis (i.e., necking) of diameter d.
Feel free to use Matlab, Python, Excel or any other software of your choice – the tables and plots
that you are required to generate are independent of what software you use.
Stenosis Severity (SS) is defined as follows: SS = (1- d/D) x 100%, where D is the non-stenosed vessel
diameter (upstream and downstream of the stenosis) and d is the vessel diameter in the throat of the
stenosis. Note that for SS = 0, d = D (no stenosis) and for SS = 100%, d = 0 (fully-occluded vessel).
Note that we apply Bernoulli’s equation along the centerline streamline, because the centerline behaves
essentially as the inviscid core (and recall that Bernoulli requires the flow to be inviscid), and, therefore
we must use the centerline velocity Vˆ , which corresponds to u(r) when r = 0.
A bit more terminology to help you with this assignment:
Parabolic flow is defined as the flow velocity profile we talked about in class, governed by Poiseuille’s
Law. Remember that for parabolic flow we showed that Vˆ = 2 𝑉𝑉� , where 𝑉𝑉� is the mean flow velocity.
Plug flow refers to a uniform velocity profile flow, where u(r) = 𝑉𝑉� = Vˆ .
( )
Quasi-plug flow is defined as u (r ) = 1.1V 1 − (r R ) , where 𝑉𝑉� is the mean flow velocity. Again, the
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centerline velocity for quasi-plug flow can be determined via 𝑉𝑉� = u(r), when r = 0.
Some other useful information – you should be able to derive the unit conversions yourselves:
ρBlood = 1.06 g/cm3
1 dyne = 1 g x 1 cm/s2 = 1 x 10-5 N
1 dyne /cm2 = 0.1 Pa = 0.1 N/m2
1 Pa = 10 dyne /cm2
µBlood = 3.5 cPoise = 0.035 dyne-sec/cm2
760 mmHg = 101,325 Pa
1 mmHg = 101,325/760 = 133.3 Pa = 1333.24 dynes/cm2
Re = ρVD/µ
Bernoulli equation: p + ρgh + ½ ρV2 = constant
Kinetic Energy Effects
a) Neglecting gravitational effects, the centerline pressure drop from to may be estimated via
Bernoulli’s law as ∆P13 = P1 - P3 = ½ρ ( Vˆ32 − Vˆ12 ), where Vˆ is the centerline (peak) velocity.
Assuming parabolic flow at and quasi-plug flow at , tabulate ∆P13 (in mmHg) as a function
of stenosis severity from 50-80% in steps of 5%. [2 marks]
b) Now tabulate and plot the pressure drop from to assuming quasi-plug flow at . [2 marks]
c) Briefly explain why the above results suggest that it doesn’t really matter what you assume about
the shape of the upstream velocity profile. [1 mark]
Potential Energy Effects
d) Show that the pressure drop from to due to the gravitational terms alone (∆P13 = ρg (z3 – z1)
in Bernoulli’s law is relatively insignificant. Assume the vessel is vertical with upward flow – so
the diagram is rotated counter-clockwise 90 degrees, in which case the elevation difference from
to is 10 mm. [1 mark]
(Viscous) Frictional Energy Effects
e) Tabulate and plot the pressure drop (in mmHg) due to frictional losses from to , as a function
of stenosis severity from 50-80% in steps of 5%, assuming parabolic flow from to and quasi-
plug flow from to .
(Hint: You may apply Poiseuille’s law from to since the flow is parabolic. However, from
to , you may no longer use Poiseuille’s law owing to the non-parabolic profile. Instead, consider
a force balance (πR2∆P = 2πRLτ) as we did earlier in the course and use the fact that τ = -µ du/dr
evaluated at r = R, where u(r) is defined by the quasi-flow equation. Show the derivation for ∆P13
= ∆P12 + ∆P23, where ∆P12 is governed by Poiseuille’s Law and ∆P23 is the one that you derive
from the first principles using the quasi-plug flow.) [3 marks]
f) Briefly explain whether you think it is reasonable to neglect frictional losses in the Bernoulli
equation. [1 mark]
