The following was a graduate class project for a hypothetical company interested in a new outlet strut for their heart valve. We used fracture and fatigue mechanics to determine whether to strut would safely withstand the expected physical loads when in services.
ABSTRACT: The outlet strut of the Model X heart valve was evaluated for fatigue and fracture primarily using linear elastic fracture mechanics and damage–tolerant fatigue mechanics with brief comments on elastic–plastic fracture mechanics. The maximum allowable initial crack size was 0.879 mm, although the critical value of 0.670 mm is recommended since it is the limit of the provided K solutions. Limiting cases for increasing heart rate, residual stress and short crack behavior were included, yet still showed that the device is safe provided the recommended initial crack size limits are not exceeded.
Enzo Borja Mangubat 