Computational fluid dynamics analysis to establish the design process of acentrifugal blood pump: Second report

To establish an efficient design process for centrifugal blood pumps, the r esults of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis were compared to the results of flow visualization tests and hemolysis tests, using the Nikkiso centrifugal blood pump. CFD analysis revealed that the radial gap greatly a ffected the shear stress in the outlet diffuser. The hemolysis study also i ndicated a similar tendency. To see the flow behind the impeller, we conduc ted a comparative study between models with and without washout holes using the CFD technique. CFD analysis indicated that flow and pressure distribut ions behind the impeller were different between both models, and a particle was observed to remain longer behind the impeller in the model without was hout holes. In the future, CFD analysis could be a useful tool for developi ng blood pumps in comparison to flow visualization tests and hemolysis test s.