Cla. Berli et D. Quemada, Aggregation behavior of red blood cells in shear flow. A theoretical interpretation of simultaneous rheo-optical and viscometric measurements, BIORHEOLOGY, 38(1), 2001, pp. 27-38
A theoretical interpretation of simultaneous viscosity measurements and lig
ht backscattering experiments is carried out in the framework of the struct
ural model for concentrated dispersions proposed previously by one of the a
uthors. The work is mainly focused on erythrocyte aggregation, hence spheri
cal as well as linear aggregates (rouleaux) were considered in the modeling
. A connection between the structural parameters provided by each technique
is established, in particular the characteristic shear rates for break up
of aggregates. Theoretical predictions were then applied to experimental da
ta of human blood collected from patients with different diseases in a hosp
ital data bank. Finally, we conclude that the structural modeling proposed
permits a reasonably good correlation between experimental data of viscomet
ry and light backscattering from blood samples, leading to new perspectives
in the analysis of the red blood cell aggregation phenomena.