Simulating Soft-Sphere Margination in Arterioles and Venules

TL;DR

This study uses a combined Lattice Boltzmann and Particle Dynamics simulation to analyze blood flow and the margination of soft spheres in arterioles and venules, validating results with experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a novel simulation approach to study micro-scale particle margination in blood flow within small vessels, validated against experimental data.

Findings

Validated simulation of RBC transport in blood flow.

Demonstrated margination effects of soft spheres in microvessels.

Provided insights into particle transport mechanisms in arterioles and venules.

Abstract

In this paper, we deploy a Lattice Boltzmann - Particle Dynamics (LBPD) method to dissect the transport properties within arterioles and venules. First, the numerical approach is applied to study the transport of Red Blood Cells (RBC) through plasma and validated by means of comparison with the experimental data in the seminal work by F{\aa}hr{\ae}us and Lindqvist. Then, the presence of micro-scale, soft spheres within the blood flow is considered: the evolution in time of the position of such spheres is studied, in order to highlight the presence of possible \textit{margination} effects. The results of the simulations and the evaluation of the computational eff