A Modified Suspension-Balance Model for Deformable Particle Suspensions: Application to Blood Flows with Cell-Free Layer

TL;DR

This paper introduces a modified suspension balance model that incorporates hydrodynamic lift forces to accurately simulate blood flow and cell-free layer formation in microvascular channels, aligning well with experimental data.

Contribution

The novel modified suspension balance model includes deformable particle-wall interactions, enabling efficient simulation of microcirculatory blood flow and cell-free layer dynamics.

Findings

Accurately predicts cell-free layer development in microchannels.

Replicates Fahraeus and Fahraeus-Linqvist effects.

Aligns with experimental and numerical blood flow data.

Abstract

We propose a modified suspension balance model (SBM) for the flow of red blood cells (RBCs) and other deformable particle suspensions in confined geometries. Specifically, the method includes the hydrodynamic lift force generated by deformable particles interacting with walls leading to a cell-free layer. The lift force is added to the SBM to drive RBCs migrating away from the wall. Using the modified SBM (MSBM), we simulate blood flows through microvascular channels and tubes. The method is able to capture the transient development of the cell-free layer (CFL) and the corresponding hematocrit and velocity profiles with the development of the CFL. The CFL thickness and hemorheological hallmarks in microcirculation, such as the Fahraeus Effect and the Fahraeus-Linqvist Effect, are captured in good agreement with existing experimental and direct numerical results of blood flows. This work establishes a novel continuum computational framework that can efficiently capture the microstructural heterogeneity and non-Newtonian flow behavior of concentrated deformable particle suspensions under confinement.