Laser vibrometry and stress measurement by thermoelasticity on mechanical heart valve

In this paper a measurement method for the analysis of the structural behaviour of heart valves is presented by the use of the thermoelasticity and laser Doppler vibrometry. A special experimental test bench has been realized with the purpose to fix the body of the valve and to excite the parts of remarkable importance from the structural point of view by means of a shaker. The vibrational measurements have been adopted as boundary condition for the FEM simulations and the relative maps in terms of stress have subsequently been validate through the employment of the thermoelasticity