Owing in part to a plasma-skimming mechanism, the distribution of red blood cells (RBCs) into branches of microvascular bifurcations typically differs from the distribution of the bulk blood flow. This paper analyzes the plasma-skimming mechanism that causes phase separation due to uneven distribution of red blood cells at the inlet cross section of the parent vessel. In a previous study, the shape of the surface that divides the flow into the branches was found by numerical simulation of three-dimensional flow of a homogeneous Newtonian fluid in T-type bifurcations. Those findings are used in this study to determine, as a first approximation, the side-to-parent vessel RBC flux ratio and discharge hematocrit ratio as a function of corresponding flow ratios. Calculations are based on the assumption that RBCs move along streamlines of a homogeneous Newtonian fluid and are uniformly distributed within a concentric core at the inlet cross section of the parent vessel. The results of our calculations agree well for a wide range of flow parameters with experimental data from in vivo and in vitro studies.
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February 1994
Research Papers
A Numerical Study of Plasma Skimming in Small Vascular Bifurcations
G. Enden,
G. Enden
Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
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A. S. Popel
A. S. Popel
Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
Search for other works by this author on:
G. Enden
Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
A. S. Popel
Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
J Biomech Eng. Feb 1994, 116(1): 79-88 (10 pages)
Published Online: February 1, 1994
Article history
Received:
May 18, 1992
Revised:
January 18, 1993
Online:
March 17, 2008
Citation
Enden, G., and Popel, A. S. (February 1, 1994). "A Numerical Study of Plasma Skimming in Small Vascular Bifurcations." ASME. J Biomech Eng. February 1994; 116(1): 79–88. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2895708
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