Pasias, D;
Passos, A;
Constantinides, G;
Balabani, S;
Kaliviotis, E;
(2020)
Surface tension driven flow of blood in a rectangular microfluidic channel: Effect of erythrocyte aggregation.
Physics of Fluids
, 32
(7)
, Article 071903. 10.1063/5.0008939.
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Abstract
Microfluidic platforms have increasingly been explored for in vitro blood diagnostics and for studying complex microvascular processes. The perfusion of blood in such devices is typically achieved through pressure driven set-ups. Surface tension driven blood flow provides an alternative flow delivery option, and various studies in the literature have examined the behaviour of blood flow in such fluidic devices. In such flows, the influence of red blood cell (RBC) aggregation, the phenomenon majorly responsible for the non-Newtonian nature of blood, requires particular attention. In the present work, we examine differences in the surface tension driven flow of aggregating, non-aggregating RBC, and Newtonian suspensions, in a rectangular micro channel. The velocity fields were obtained using microPIV techniques. The analytical solution for blood velocity in the channel is developed utilising the power law model for blood viscosity. The results showed that RBC aggregation has an impact at the late stages of the flow, observed mainly in the bluntness of the velocity profiles. At the initial stages of the flow the shearing conditions are found moderately elevated, preventing intense RBC aggregate formation. As the flow decelerates in the channel RBC aggregation increases, affecting the flow characteristics.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Surface tension driven flow of blood in a rectangular microfluidic channel: Effect of erythrocyte aggregation |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1063/5.0008939 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0008939 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Surface tension driven blood flow, rectangular microchannel. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10104663 |
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