A theory of fluid flow in compliant tubes.

Starting with the Navier-Stokes equations, a system of equations is obtained to describe quasi-one-dimensional behavior of fluid in a compliant tube. The nonlinear terms which cannot be shown to be small in the original equations are retained, and the resulting equations are nonlinear. A functional pressure-area relationship is postulated and the final set of equations are quasi-linear and hyperbolic, with two independent and two dependent variables. A method of numerical solution of the set of equations is indicated, and the application to cases of interest is discussed.