A NONLINEAR MAXWELL MODEL OF BIOFLUIDS - APPLICATION TO NORMAL BLOOD

For transient shear stress responses at moderate shear rates, predicti ons of a Non-Linear Maxwell model, in which the viscosity coefficient is assumed to depend on the instantaneous structural state of the mate rial, are compared to measurements on normal blood (McMillan et al., 1 986). This is carried out on a modified viscometer which incorporates a dynamic balance torque monitoring, in order to eliminate apparatus i nertia effects. Satisfactory agreement is obtained with model variable s closely related to the structure kinetics.