Project Details
Projekt
Computer simulations of red blood cells in transient flows
Applicant
Professor Dr. Stephan Gekle
Subject Area
Statistical Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics, Complex Systems, Soft and Fluid Matter, Biological Physics
Term
since 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 349558021
Red blood cells (RBCs) are the most abundant cell type in mammals. Their high deformability allows them to flow without damage through very narrow microcapillaries. In slightly larger vessels such as arterioles and venules, this deformability leads to complex patterns of motion such as the so-called croissant or the periodically oscillating slipper shapes. The overarching goal of project B3 is to understand the behavior of RBCs in pulsating and transient flows. In the first phase, we focussed on studies of pulsating and transient flows in straight channels in addition to methodological developments. In good agreement with experiments by our partners in A4 (now A5), we could show that temporally changing pressure ramps lead to transitions between different motion patterns. The transition times, however, are very different depending on whether the pressure rises or falls. In agreement with the general theme of the Research Unit, the second phase will focus on complex geometries and viscoelastic liquids. In the beginning we plan methodological developments to include viscoelastic behavior into our lattice Boltzmann simulation method. Together with A4, these will then be used to study the behavior of RBCs in polymer solutions which are injected into patients after strong blood loss as so-called plasma expanders. Our investigations on transient flows will be continued by studying RBCs when they pass by spatially varying geometries such constrictions, bifurcations (in-vitro in A5) or porous microthrombi (in-vivo in A4).
DFG Programme
Research Units
