A design improvement strategy for axial blood pumps using computational fluid dynamics

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Fluid Dynamics
• Computational Science

Background:

• Non-traditional axial flow pumps require advanced design methods.
• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) offers significant advantages in early-stage concept development.
• Initial designs may exhibit undesirable flow features like reverse flow, impacting efficiency and biocompatibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To numerically evolve the design of a novel axial flow blood pump using CFD.
• To mitigate undesirable flow features, specifically reverse flow.
• To improve hydrodynamic efficiency and reduce the potential for blood trauma and thrombogenesis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for numerical simulation.
• Created geometric models of blood-wetted surfaces for iterative design changes.
• Solved incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in rotating coordinates to analyze fluid flow.
• Employed an evolutionary sequence of four design generations.

Main Results:

• CFD analysis revealed large regions of reverse flow in the initial design.
• Iterative geometric modifications led to significant improvements in fluid dynamics.
• Marked enhancements in major fluid dynamic aspects were observed across the four design generations.
• Reduced reverse flow and improved flow characteristics were achieved.

Conclusions:

• CFD is a powerful tool for optimizing non-traditional axial flow pump designs.
• Iterative numerical design significantly mitigates undesirable flow features.
• The optimized axial flow pump design shows improved hydrodynamic performance and reduced biocompatibility risks.