Flow of a blood analogue solution through microfabricated hyperbolic contractions

Sousa, P.C. and Pinho, I.S. and Pinho, F.T. and Oliveira, Monica and Alves, M.A.; Tavares, J.M.R.S. and Jorge, R.M.N., eds. (2011) Flow of a blood analogue solution through microfabricated hyperbolic contractions. In: Computational Vision and Medical Image Processing. Computational Methods in Applied Sciences, 19 (1st). Springer London, London, Ch 15 pp 265-279. ISBN 978-94-007-0010-9 (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0011-615)

[thumbnail of Oliveira_M_Pure_Flow_of_a_blood_analogue_solution_through_microfabricated_hyperbolic_contractions_2011.pdf]
Preview
PDF. Filename: Oliveira_M_Pure_Flow_of_a_blood_analogue_solution_through_microfabricated_hyperbolic_contractions_2011.pdf
Preprint

Download (693kB)| Preview

Abstract

The flow of a blood analogue solution past a microfabricated hyperbolic contraction followed by an abrupt expansion was investigated experimentally. The shape of the contraction was designed in order to impose a nearly constant strain rate to the fluid along the centerline of the microgeometry. The flow patterns of the blood analogue solution and of a Newtonian reference fluid (deionized water), captured using streak line imaging, are quite distinct and illustrate the complex behavior of the blood analogue solution flowing through the microgeometry. The flow of the blood analogue solution shows elastic-driven effects with vortical structures emerging upstream of the contraction, which are absent in Newtonian fluid flow. In both cases the flow also develops instabilities downstream of the expansion but these are inertia driven. Therefore, for the blood analogue solution at high flow rates the competing effects of inertia and elasticity lead to complex flow patterns and unstable flow develops.