B. Das et al., Computational fluid dynamic studies of leukocyte adhesion effects on non-Newtonian blood flow through microvessels, BIORHEOLOGY, 37(3), 2000, pp. 239-258
The study of the effect of leukocyte adhesion on blood flow in small vessel
s is of primary interest to understand the resistance changes in venular mi
crocirculation. Available computational fluid dynamic studies provide infor
mation on the effect of leukocyte adhesion when blood is considered as a ho
mogeneous Newtonian fluid. In the present work we aim to understand the eff
ect of leukocyte adhesion on the non-Newtonian Casson fluid flow of blood i
n small venules; the Casson model represents the effect of red blood cell a
ggregation. In our model the blood vessel is considered as a circular cylin
der and the leukocyte is considered as a truncated spherical protrusion in
the inner side of the blood vessel. The cases of single leukocyte adhesion
and leukocyte pairs in positions aligned along the same side, and opposite
sides of the vessel wall are considered. The Casson fluid parameters are ch
osen for cat blood and human blood and comparisons are made for the effects
of leukocyte adhesion in both species. Numerical simulations demonstrated
that for a Casson fluid with hematocrit of 0.4 and flow rate Q = 0.072 nl/s
, a single leukocyte increases flow resistance by 5% in a 32 mu m diameter
and 100 mu m long vessel. For a smaller vessel of 18 mu m, the flow resista
nce increases by 15%.