  Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is a current alternative treatment for
thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms, but is still sometimes compromised by
possible complications such as device migration or endoleaks. In order to
assist clinicians in preventing these complications, finite element analysis
(FEA) is a promising tool. However, the strong material and geometrical
nonlinearities added to the complex multiple contacts result in costly
finite-element models. To reduce this computational cost, we establish here an
alternative and systematic methodology to simplify the computational
simulations of stent-grafts (SG) based on FEA. The model reduction methodology
relies on equivalent shell models with appropriate geometrical and mechanical
parameters. It simplifies significantly the contact interactions but still
shows very good agreement with a complete reference finite-element model.
Finally, the computational time for EVAR simulations is reduced of a factor 6
to 10. An application is shown for the deployment of a SG during thoracic
endovascular repair, showing that the developed methodology is both effective
and accurate to determine the final position of the deployed SG inside the
aneurysm.
