Numerical analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer in human eye under laser surgery

Human eye thermal modeling is vital for investigating the effect of external heat sources as well as predicting the eye abnormalities. Better understanding of thermal response in different sections of the eye for applied heat flux can be helpful in optimizing laser therapy or ophthalmology surgery. By this study, the heat transfer in the eye is simulated numerically in Fluent 6.2.16 for different input values and the results have beencompared with each other and with previous models to validate. Eye geometry is modeled in two and three dimensions, using Gambit 2.3.16 software. These models are imported to Fluent 6.3.26 to simulate heat transfer in eye for different conditions. Similar to most of the previous works, heat flow in aqueous humor is neglected in the preliminary simulations. After solving the heat transfer equation in eye, the results arecompared to similar papers and journals. At a time, when validity is established, the model is developed to consider the effect of aqueous humor fluid flow in eye thermal distribution. The results from the present study may provide a qualitative idea on the thermal effects of aqueous humor flow in the human eye and its importance for the human eye thermal analysis. Regarding the results obtained from flow patterns inside the aqueous humor region for 3D model, it is necessary to model this region in three dimensions as it flows in different directions.

Keywords:

Eye laser surgery , heat transfer , aqueous humor fluid flow , numerical simulation