Computing the flow of suspensions of red blood cells in complex networks of capillaries

We develop a numerical model of blood flow in the microvasculature of the human body as a building block to later simulate targeted drug delivery. The model requires (i) to implement a Front Tacking/Immersed Boundary method to coupled the solution of the fluid flows to the deformation of the red blood cells (RBCs) and (ii) to consider the complex meshed geometry of the network of capillaries described on the fluid grid. The model is implemented in a computing platform that runs in parallel on large supercomputers to later enable massively parallel computing. We validate our implementation against existing data available in the literature on simple flow configurations such as as a single RBC in a simple shear flow. As a proof of concept, we ultimately compute a suspension of RBCs flowing through a Y junction. The numerical model can also be used to optimize the design of microfluidic devices that perform tasks such as high-throughput cell sorting and of processes that produce bio-compatible artificial materials through 3D printing.

Faculty Supervisor:

Anthony Wachs

Student:

Partner:

École des ponts ParisTech

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program: