Figure 2.
(a) Abdominal aortic expansion rate according to (3.4) as a function of gain factor kσ compared with the clinically observed value of 0.04 mm yr−1 (horizontal line); hence a value of kσ = 0.12/τ appears clinically relevant. (b) Nonlinear finite-element simulation of aortic expansion due to elastin degradation with kσ = 0.12/τ. (c) Aortic expansion after a pressure increase of δp = 20 mm Hg over 1 year revealed a predominantly elastic dilatation during the phase of pressure increase followed by a longer period of G&R resulting in a residual dilatation according to the principle of adaptivity; residual dilatation expected from experiments [22] represented as a horizontal line. (Online version in colour.)