Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14279/18508
Title: | The effect of red blood cell aggregation on velocity and cell-depleted layer characteristics of blood in a bifurcating microchannel | Authors: | Sherwood, J.M. Dusting, J. Kaliviotis, Efstathios Balabani, Stavroula |
Major Field of Science: | Engineering and Technology | Field Category: | Mechanical Engineering | Keywords: | Bifurcation (mathematics);Blood;Blood vessels;Cytology;Geometry;Intersections;Microchannels;Newtonian liquids;Velocity | Issue Date: | Jun-2012 | Source: | Biomicrofluidics, vol. 6, iss. 2, 2012, article number 024119 | Volume: | 6 | Issue: | 2 | Journal: | Biomicrofluidics | Abstract: | Red blood cell (RBC) aggregation is a multifaceted phenomenon, and whether it is generally beneficial or deleterious remains unclear. In order to better understand its effect on microvascular blood flow, the phenomenon must be studied in complex geometries, as it is strongly dependent on time, flow, and geometry. The cell-depleted layer (CDL) which forms at the walls of microvessels has been observed to be enhanced by aggregation; however, details of the characteristics of the CDL in complex regions, such as bifurcations, require further investigation. In the present study, a microchannel with a T-junction was used to analyze the influence of aggregation on the flow field and the CDL. Micro-PIV using RBCs as tracers provided high resolution cell velocity data. CDL characteristics were measured from the same data using a newly developed technique based on motion detection. Skewed and sharpened velocity profiles in the daughter branches were observed, contrary to the behavior of a continuous Newtonian fluid. RBC aggregation was observed to increase the skewness, but decrease the sharpening, of the velocity profiles in the daughter branches. The CDL width was found to be significantly greater, with a wider distribution, in the presence of aggregation and the mean width increased proportionally with the reciprocal of the fraction of flow entering the daughter branch. Aggregation also significantly increased the roughness of the interface between the CDL and the RBC core. The present results provide further insight into how RBC aggregation may affect the flow in complex geometries, which is of importance in both understanding its functions invivo, and utilizing it as a tool in microfluidic devices. | URI: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14279/18508 | ISSN: | 19321058 | DOI: | 10.1063/1.4717755 | Rights: | © American Institute of Physics | Type: | Article | Affiliation : | University College London King's College London Schlumberger Cambridge Research Center |
Publication Type: | Peer Reviewed |
Appears in Collections: | Άρθρα/Articles |
CORE Recommender
SCOPUSTM
Citations
60
checked on Feb 2, 2024
WEB OF SCIENCETM
Citations
55
Last Week
0
0
Last month
1
1
checked on Oct 29, 2023
Page view(s)
269
Last Week
1
1
Last month
6
6
checked on Sep 1, 2024
Google ScholarTM
Check
Altmetric
This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License