Asymmetric opening of a simple bileaflet valve.

The opening motion of a bileaflet valve driven by a pulsed stream is studied in the limiting condition of rigid massless leaflets closing a two-dimensional channel. This simple arrangement allows us to write simple dynamical equations for the solid that are solved numerically with the Navier-Stokes equation for the fluid. The analysis is focused on the influence of asymmetry on the coupled fluid-valve dynamics when parameters are taken with references to cardiac valves. Results show that the wake generation from the leaflet's trailing edge can be partly inhibited; the primary vortex downstream does not occur in an intermediate range of asymmetry. The potential emergence of such a phenomenon in realistic cases would present implications in development of diagnostic schemes.