MpCCI
MpCCI (mesh-based parallel code coupling interface) is software capable of coupling several commercial FEA and CFD codes for fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analyses. As arteries are deformable vessels this makes FSI an important aspect in numerical modelling of arteries.
At CABER it is currently being used to investigate the biomechanics of patient-specific abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) and their post-operative treatment. FSI is extremely important in the modelling of post-operative AAAs as both the fluid forces acting on the graft and the wall stresses acting on the aneurysm are of much interest. The specific approach at CABER involves coupling the CFD software Fluent to the FEA software Abaqus. Both codes share a common interface where data exchange occurs. Fluent sends the pressure field to Abaqus which applies this as a non-uniform load to the coupled interface. Abaqus solves for this load and returns the deformed nodal co-ordinates to Fluent. Using the dynamic mesh capability in Fluent the fluid mesh can then be deformed. This process is then repeated over the full cycle.