Numerical Simulation of Flow in a Screw-Type Blood Pump

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Kilani, M. I. | Haik, Y. S. | Jaw, S.-Y. | Chen, C.-J.

Affiliations: Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Jordan, Amman 11942 Jordan. E-mail: mkilani@ju.edu.jo | Center for Nanomagnetics and Biotechnology, Tallahassee 32310 Florida, USA. E-mail: haik@eng.fsu.edu | National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan. E-mail: shjaw@eng.fsu.edu | FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Tallahassee 32310 Florida, USA. E-mail: cjchen@eng.fsu.edu

Abstract: This study presents a numerical investigation of the flow field in a screw pump designed to circulate biological fluid such as blood. A simplified channel flow model is used to allow analysis using a Cartesian set of coordinates. Finite analytic (FA) numerical simulation of the flow field inside the channel was performed to study the influence of Reynolds number and pressure gradient on velocity distribution and shear stresses across the channel cross-section. Simulation results were used to predict flow rates, circulatory flow and the shear stresses, which are known to be related to the level of red blood cell damage (hemolysis) caused by the pump. The study shows that high shear levels are confined to small regions within the channel cross-section, but the circulatory nature of the flow causes an increased percentage of blood elements to pass through the high shear regions, and increases the likelihood of cell damage.

Keywords: Screw pumps, blood flow, blood hemolysis, finite analytic method, flow simulation

Journal: Journal of Visualization, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 33-40, 2005