Pressure drops through arterial stenosis models in steady flow condition.

Measures of pressure drops were made in two different plexiglass models of axial-symmetric arterial stenoses. The stenosis models had the same area reduction (86 percent) but were of different length so as to have a different tapering degree. Pressures were measured in steady flow condition at three equidistant points of the stenosis: upstream, in the middle, and downstream. Results indicate that: the upstream-middle pressure drop is independent of tapering degree but is highly influenced by area reduction; moreover it is much greater than the middle-downstream drop. The upstream-middle pressure drop can be accurately predicted by means of a relationship deduced by the momentum equation.