<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Results obtained with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) rely on assumptions made during a pre-processing stage, including a mathematical description of a fluid rheology. Up to this date there is no clear answer to several aspects, mainly related to the question of whether and under what conditions blood can be simplified to a Newtonian fluid during CFD analyses. Different research groups present contradictory results, leaving the question unanswered. Therefore, the objective of this research was to perform steady-state and pulsatile blood flow simulations using eight different rheological models in geometries of varying complexity. A qualitative comparison of shear- and viscosity-related parameters showed no meaningful discrepancies, but a quantitative analysis revealed significant differences, especially in the magnitudes of wall shear stress (WSS) and its gradient (WSSG). We suggest that for the large arteries blood should be modelled as a non-Newtonian fluid, whereas for the cerebral vasculature the assumption of blood as a simple Newtonian fluid can be treated as a valid simplification.</p>
</abstract>

Results obtained with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) rely on assumptions made during a pre-processing stage, including a mathematical description of a fluid rheology. Up to this date there is no clear answer to several aspects, mainly related to the question of whether and under what conditions blood can be simplified to a Newtonian fluid during CFD analyses. Different research groups present contradictory results, leaving the question unanswered. Therefore, the objective of this research was to perform steady-state and pulsatile blood flow simulations using eight different rheological models in geometries of varying complexity. A qualitative comparison of shear- and viscosity-related parameters showed no meaningful discrepancies, but a quantitative analysis revealed significant differences, especially in the magnitudes of wall shear stress (WSS) and its gradient (WSSG). We suggest that for the large arteries blood should be modelled as a non-Newtonian fluid, whereas for the cerebral vasculature the assumption of blood as a simple Newtonian fluid can be treated as a valid simplification.

Influence of Fluid Rheology on Blood Flow Haemodynamics in Patient-Specific Arterial Networks of Varied Complexity – In-Silico Studies

Acta Mechanica et Automatica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Results obtained with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) rely on assumptions made during a pre-processing stage, including a mathematical description of a...

Influence of Fluid Rheology on Blood Flow Haemodynamics in Patient-Specific Arterial Networks of Varied Complexity – In-Silico Studies

Published Online: Dec 30, 2023

Page range: 8 - 21

Received: Mar 30, 2023

Accepted: Jun 28, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ama-2024-0002

Keywords
blood rheology, CFD, non-Newtonian blood flows, arterial systems

© 2024 Zbigniew Tyfa et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Influence of Fluid Rheology on Blood Flow Haemodynamics in Patient-Specific Arterial Networks of Varied Complexity – In-Silico Studies

Published Online: Dec 30, 2023

Page range: 8 - 21

Received: Mar 30, 2023

Accepted: Jun 28, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ama-2024-0002

Keywordsblood rheology, CFD, non-Newtonian blood flows, arterial systems

© 2024 Zbigniew Tyfa et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
blood rheology, CFD, non-Newtonian blood flows, arterial systems