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Hemolysis performance investigation of aortic valve pump based on computational fluid dynamics and entropy production
Teng Jing1, Aidi Pan1, Fangqun Wang1
1National Research Center of Pumps, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.
Background And Objective:
Heart failure is a significant cause of cardiovascular disease, resulting in pathological changes in human blood circulation. Aortic heart valve pump is well investigated to become an important influencing factor for hemolysis and increase blood circulation capacity. Energy loss is inevitable during the process of blood temperature rise. However, when analyzing the energy loss during the operation of artificial heart pumps, efficiency formulas are often used to indirectly evaluate the total hydraulic loss, which cannot directly determine the source and specific distribution of energy loss in different parts. Therefore, this research introduces the numerical simulation and entropy production theory to analyze artificial heart pumps.
Methods:
This paper explores the aortic valve pump's flow field characteristics and hemolysis performance. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method with the hemolysis prediction model is performed. Furthermore, entropy production theory was employed to analysis the flow field and obtain more details about shearing and transporting effects. Different valve pump impeller structures were analyzed and compared based on entropy production theory. The temperature distribution, energy loss mechanism inside the blood pump, and blood damage characteristics were determined.
Results:
(1) The flow vortex and the impact of fluid on the blade are important reasons for the significant local entropy generation loss in the region. The inlet and outlet flow fields of the blood pump impeller and rear guide vane are relatively disordered, the main concentration area of entropy generation loss. (2) The wall entropy generation value accounts for a more significant proportion of the aortic valve pump, followed by dense dissipative entropy generation, dominated by turbulent dissipative entropy generation; heat transfer dissipative entropy generation has the most minor proportion. (3) The hemolysis index mainly depends on shear stress and exposure time, while the areas with high entropy output values are primarily concentrated in areas with long exposure time or large velocity gradients, which leads to increased shear stress.
Conclusions:
The combined analysis of Computational Fluid Dynamics and entropy production theory can provide a specific reference value for the blood cell damage mechanism and optimization of blood pumps.
