The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software is increasingly being applied to the prediction of hemolysis in left ventricular assist devices. Power law models, such as the one developed by Giersiepen et al. [1], consider the effect of shear stress and exposure time on hemolysis. These models are capable of predicting relative hemolysis levels but have not been shown to accurately predict the normalized index of hemolysis, measured experimentally. This may be due to the lack of turbulence parameters in the power law-based models.
Turbulent stresses have been shown to contribute to the mechanical destruction of red blood cells [2–6]. Liu et al. [7] determined that when Kolmogorov length scales are the size of a red blood cell or smaller, mechanical trauma to the red blood cell occurs. Therefore, the inclusion of turbulent flow parameters in an advanced hemolysis model could yield more...