Computational Modeling of Stent Failure During Crimping and Deployment in Coronary Arteries

- **Problem:** Crimping and deployment of stents involve severe finite strains, contact, strongly affecting failure and long-term performance.
- **Method:**
- 3D phase-field fracture framework for ductile failure
- Coupled with finite-strain elastoplasticity (stent)
- Anisotropic hyperelastic model for arterial wall (layered: intima, media, adventitia)
- Implemented via UELs in Abaqus
- **Model capabilities:**
- Fully coupled stent–balloon–artery simulations
- Captures crimp–hold–release–expansion sequence
- Resolves contact, stress localization, and damage evolution
- **Key findings:**
- Fracture initiates already during crimping (not only deployment)
- Damage progressively evolves during expansion
- Leads to localized damage, residual stresses, and elastic recoil
- **Design insight:**
- Stent performance strongly depends on
- geometry (open/closed-cell, strut thickness)
- loading path
- arterial anisotropy
- **Contribution:**
- Failure-aware computational framework under finite strains
- Enables design optimization and safer deployment strategies
- Open-access code for reproducibility and further research