Sleiman, Hani Cheikh;
Moerman, Kevin M;
De Oliveira, Diana C;
Jacob, Joseph;
Mogulkoc, Nesrin;
Davidson, Brian R;
Walker-Samuel, Simon;
(2025)
Tube2FEM: a general-purpose highly automated pipeline for flow-related processes in (embedded) tubular objects.
Royal Society Open Science
, 12
(8)
, Article 242025. 10.1098/rsos.242025.
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Abstract
This paper presents an open-source pipeline for simulating flow and flow-related processes in (embedded) tubular structures. Addressing a gap in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and simulation sciences, it facilitates the transition from raw three-dimensional imaging, graph networks or computer aided design (CAD) models of tubular objects to refined, simulation-ready meshes. This transition, traditionally labour-intensive, is streamlined through a series of innovative steps that include surface mesh processing, centre-line construction, anisotropic mesh generation and volumetric meshing, leading to finite element method (FEM) simulations. The pipeline leverages a range of open-source software and libraries, notably GIBBON, FEniCS and Paraview, to provide flexibility and broad applicability across different simulation scenarios, ranging from biomedical to industrial applications. We demonstrate the versatility of our approach through five applications, including the mesh generation for soil-root systems, lung airways, microcirculation networks and portal vein networks, each originating from a different data source. Moreover, for several of these cases, we incorporate CFD simulations and strategies for 3D-1D coupling between the embedding domain and the embedded structures. Finally, we outline some future perspectives aimed at enhancing accuracy, reducing computational time and incorporating advanced modelling and boundary condition strategies to further refine the framework's capabilities.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Tube2FEM: a general-purpose highly automated pipeline for flow-related processes in (embedded) tubular objects |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1098/rsos.242025 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.242025 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2025 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Multidisciplinary Sciences, Science & Technology - Other Topics, computational fluid dynamics, 3D-1D mixed-dimension, embedded networks, vascular networks, conforming mesh, lung airways, OXYGEN DELIVERY, TISSUE, APPROXIMATION, MODELS |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine > Respiratory Medicine |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10213548 |
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