Numerical Simulation of Arterial Plaque Ruptures

We present three-dimensional finite element simulations of damaged arteries, used to investigate the influence of the geometry and tissue properties on the plaque rupture. We adopt a baseline geometry reconstructed from a contiguous set of in vitro magnetic resonance images of a damaged artery. The treelayered artery wall is discretized with tetrahedral finite elements. The material of the layers is described with the hyperelastic fiber reinforced anisotropic model proposed by Holzapfel et al. [1]. The material properties are calibrated by fitting experimental data available in the literature. The physical interfaces between plaque and artery are modeled with cohesive elements, as well as the fracture surfaces induced by the mechanical action. The fracture surfaces are explicitly introduced in the model only when the tensile strength of the material is reached.