Skip to main content
The Phoenix Files
Community Digital Archives of Olin College

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Browse Digital Objects
  • About This Collection

The Onset of Oscillations in Microvascular Blood Flow

  1. Home
Pages: 1 of
In Faculty Publications

Title

The Onset of Oscillations in Microvascular Blood Flow

Author(s)

Geddes, John B.
Carr, Russell T.
Karst, Nathaniel

Description

We explore the stability of equilibrium solution(s) of a simple model of microvascular blood flow in a two-node network. The model takes the form of convection equations for red blood cell concentration, and contains two important rheological effects—the Fåhræus–Lindqvist effect, which governs viscosity of blood flow in a single vessel, and the plasma skimming effect, which describes the separation of red blood cells at diverging nodes. We show that stability is governed by a linear system of integral equations, and we study the roots of the associated characteristic equation in detail. We demonstrate using a combination of analytical and numerical techniques that it is the relative strength of the Fåhræus–Lindqvist effect and the plasma skimming effect which determines the existence of a set of network parameter values which lead to a Hopf bifurcation of the equilibrium solution. We confirm these predictions with direct numerical simulation and suggest several areas for future research and application.

Date Published

2018-03-26 15:05:03

Files

  • Download GeddesJB_The_onset_of_oscillations.pdf

Rights Statements

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Linked Data for this Object

Wikidata subjects

User login

  • Reset your password
Olin College of Engineering

An undergraduate engineering institution exploring innovative approaches to engineering education since its founding in 1997.

1000 Olin Way
Needham, MA 02492
781.292.2390