Laboratory of Contact Mechanics and Structures, INSA Lyon France
Frictional Stability of Superelastic Nitinol Stents at the Arterial Interface
Stent migration after endovascular aneurysm repair is fundamentally an interfacial mechanics problem. Fixation depends on the interaction between radial pressure, friction, arterial compliance, and the superelastic behaviour of Nitinol. Treating the stent–artery interface as a biotribological system, this study uses finite element simulations to assess the effects of landing zone length, oversizing, geometry, arterial properties, and calcification. Stability is evaluated by comparing interfacial shear stress with available frictional resistance.
The results show that increasing radial force alone does not ensure stable fixation, while excessive oversizing may induce structural instability. Optimized designs that exploit superelastic recovery improve contact stability, whereas calcification modifies stiffness and pressure distribution. These findings highlight that durable fixation requires controlled interfacial friction rather than maximal expansion, emphasizing the need to integrate tribology and patient-specific mechanics in stent design.
Prof. Benyebka Bou‑Saïd is a researcher in tribology and contact mechanics at INSA Lyon (LaMCoS Laboratory), France. His work spans fundamental and applied tribology, with particular emphasis on friction, lubrication, multi-scale contact modelling, and biomechanical interfaces. He has made notable contributions to the understanding of complex tribo-systems, including biomedical applications such as stent–artery interactions. Prof. Bou‑Saïd is widely recognized for bridging theoretical modelling with engineering practice and has extensively published in leading journals while actively contributing to international research collaborations in tribology and mechanics. He also serves as an Editor in leading tribology journals