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Micro-scale blood particulate dynamics using a non-uniform rational B-spline-based isogeometric analysis.
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, 52242-1527, IA, U.S.A.
Summary
This study introduces a new 3D modeling method for blood cells using NURBS-based isogeometric analysis. This approach accurately simulates red blood cell (RBC) behavior in fluid flow, offering a unified framework for cell mechanics.
Area of Science:
- Computational mechanics
- Biomedical engineering
- Fluid dynamics
Background:
- Accurate modeling of deformable biological cells, such as red blood cells (RBCs), is crucial for understanding blood flow dynamics.
- Existing methods often struggle to maintain geometric fidelity under large deformations or require complex computational meshes.
- A unified framework for geometric description and mechanical analysis of individual cells is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a novel method for 3D modeling of blood particulates (spherical cells and biconcave red blood cells) using isogeometric analysis.
- To couple the geometric description and stress analysis of cell membranes within a single framework.
- To analyze the behavior of individual blood cells in various fluid flow regimes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) for accurate 3D geometric representation of blood cells, ensuring fidelity during large deformations.
- Implemented a unified framework integrating geometric description with membrane mechanics analysis.
- Performed simulations of individual spherical and biconcave RBCs in fluid flow across different regimes.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that NURBS-based isogeometric analysis accurately describes blood particulate geometry even with coarse representations.
- Successfully coupled cell geometry and membrane stress analysis in a unified computational framework.
- Simulated blood cell behavior in flow using a minimal number of elements (176 for spherical, 220 for biconcave RBCs).
Conclusions:
- This research establishes the first application of NURBS-based isogeometric analysis for 3D modeling and simulation of blood particulates in flow.
- The developed framework enables the modeling of numerous 3D deformable biological cells with individual geometric and membrane properties.
- The method provides an efficient and accurate approach for studying cell mechanics in complex fluid environments.
