December 3, 2025 | "An immersed boundary framework for modeling flow-induced large deformation of compliant vessels"
We are excited to share that Wentao Ma will be presenting his work at the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics (APS DFD) meeting in Orlando, November 23–25. His talk, titled “An immersed boundary framework for modeling flow-induced large deformation of compliant vessels,” introduces a powerful new computational method for simulating vessel-wall motion in physiologic flow environments.
Abstract summary:
Classic diffusive immersed boundary methods (IBM) have been widely adopted for biomedical flow simulations but have historically struggled with motion-constrained vessel regions—such as inlets, outlets, and segments tethered by surrounding tissue. Wentao proposes a hybrid IBM approach that accurately handles these constraints by combining traditional membrane constitutive laws for unconstrained wall regions with an iterative multi-direct forcing technique to enforce zero-velocity constraints where needed.
A key innovation in this work is the reuse of correction forces from previous time steps, allowing the method to converge in just 1–2 iterations—even under conditions of substantial wall deformation. Comparative studies show excellent agreement with analytical solutions for both vessel inflation and collapse at large strains, and the framework naturally accommodates nonlinear constitutive behaviors.
Importantly, the method avoids the free parameters commonly introduced by virtual-spring formulations and sidesteps the computational burden of sharp-interface approaches. This significantly simplifies implementation while improving physiological realism, requiring only minimal additions to the widely used classic IBM framework.
Wentao’s contribution offers a promising pathway for more accurate, efficient modeling of compliant vascular structures across a wide range of biomedical applications.
Event Details & Abstract:
An immersed boundary framework for modeling flow-induced large deformation of compliant vessels
https://schedule.aps.org/dfd/2025/events/K21/2