Pulse waves in prestressed arteries (Q1091294)

The propagation of waves in an arterial wall which is subjected to large initial inflation and extension is considered. The wall is composed of incompressible, homogeneous, isotropic elastic materials and is sufficiently thick to be regarded as a thick hollow cylinder and not as a thin cylindrical shell. The blood is assumed to be an incompressible, inviscid fluid under uniform pressure which is disturbed by a small amplitude harmonic input so that the resulting disturbance is small. By assuming a small dynamic deformation superimposed on a large static deformation a set of ordinary differential equations is obtained that are valid within the arterial wall. These equations are solved approximately using a power series method and numerical results are presented in graphical form.