Abstract
A numerical framework allowing insight in fluid dynamics inside patient- specific human hearts is presented. The heart cavities and their wall dynam- ics are extracted from medical images, with the help of a non-linear image registration algorithm, in order to obtain a patient-specific moving numer- ical domain. Flow equations are written on a conformal moving computa- tional domain, using an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian framework. Resulting equations are solved numerically with a fourth-order finite-volume technique. Application of this framework to compute a patient-specific left heart flow is presented as well. The blood flow is characterized by its transitional nature, resulting in a complex cyclic flow. Flow dynamics is analysed in order to reveal the main fluid phenomena and to obtain insights into the physiologi- cal patterns commonly detected. It is demonstrated that the flow is neither laminar nor fully turbulent, thus justifying a posteriori the use of Large Eddy Simulation.