Application of the lattice Boltzmann method to arterial flow simulation: investigation of boundary conditions for complex arterial geometries.

The application of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) to carotid artery blood flow is investigated, in particular, the importance of the boundary conditions is considered. Simulations are presented using two different boundary conditions: the traditional half-way bounce-back and an extrapolation scheme. The two methods are described and compared with respect to arterial flow simulation. The results indicate that the extrapolation scheme is preferable in narrow arteries, or when a stenosis is present in a larger artery.