PARTICLES 2023

Towards a digital meniscus - using the DC-PSE method informed by μCT scans

  • Obeidat, Anas (University of Luxembourg)

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In the presented work we use the μCT scans of two meniscus samples from [1]. We design an end-to-end pipeline from μCT scans to a computational domain. This computational domain is used to simulated pore-scale flow through the Discretization-Corrected Particle Strength Exchange (DC-PSE) method with different inlet pressure conditions. First, we address the continuum biological hydrodynamics simulation in complex geometries by presenting a novel integrated computational approach using the Discretisation-Corrected Particle Strength Exchange (DC PSE) [2] operator discretisation in a strong-form collocation mesh-less solver. The solver is coupled with Brinkman penalisation [3] to add a layer of robustness when dealing with such stochastic complex geometries. The Entropically Damped Artificial Compressibility (EDAC) equations are solved. Second, our results show that the computational domain accurately reproduces two regimes of flow in accordance with biophysical literature [4, 5]: a creeping flow below a pressure of two atmospheres, and a laminar flow above a pressure of two atmospheres. We show that this property is not a consequence of the mathematical model: if the geometry is eroded (i.e. the pore diameter is increased) or if the dynamic viscosity of the synovial fluid is below physiological range, this dual behaviour is lost in any case. Therefore, this dual behaviour of the meniscus seems to be contained by the geometry itself, coupled with the physiological range of synovial fluid dynamic viscosity. Our findings encourages us to further investigate