DOI: 10.1615/TSFP7
COMPUTATION OF BLOOD FLOWS ACCOUNTING FOR RED-BLOOD CELL AGGREGATION/FRAGMENTATION
ABSTRACT
This article presents flows computed in non-trivial geometries while accounting for the contribution of the red cells to the Cauchy stress using the haemorheological model of Owens (2006), Owens and Fang (2006). In this model the local shear viscosity is determined in terms of both the local shear rate and the average rouleau size, with the latter being the solution of an advection-reaction equation. The model describes the viscoelastic, shear-thinning and hysteretic behaviour of flowing blood, and includes non-local effects in the determination of the blood viscosity and stresses. We present numerical results for a two dimensional aneurytic channel under both steady and pulsatile flow conditions. We compare the flows for two sets of physiologically relevant Reynolds and Deborah numbers. A 3-D flow in a section of a patientspecific carotid artery is also presented.