A model of steady blood flow

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Ware, J.H.^a | Sorrell, F.Y.^a | Felder, R.M.^b

Affiliations: [a] Department of Engineering Mechanics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina | [b] Department of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

Abstract: A mathematical model is presented for the steady flow of blood in rigid straight circular tubes. The blood is modeled as a two-layer fluid for which the constitutive equations are Newtonian for the plasma layer near the wall and Casson for the whole blood in the core. Dimensional analysis is used to obtail1 an expression for the marginal layer thickness in terms of the Reynolds and Bingham numbers and the blood hematocrit. Velocity profiles calculated from the model agree well with experimental results and the calculated marginal layer thickness has a maximum deviation of 37 per cent from experimentally determined values. The model allows the computation of pressure drop-now rate relations from reservoir parameters of the blood and the tube diameter. and also predicts shear thinning and apparent viscosity decrease with decreasing tube diameter as observed in experiments.

DOI: 10.3233/BIR-1974-11201

Journal: Biorheology, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 97-109, 1974