Journals Proceedings

Abstract

In this paper, the effect of hematocrit on increasing viscosity and consequently on related changes in blood flow patterns in coronary artery with stenosis is evaluated. A numerical procedure using the Galerkin finite element method is developed to simulate the pulsatile blood flow under physiological conditions. The non-Newtonian shear-thinning character of blood is modelled by inhibiting the generalized power-law, as a constitutive equation, in the governing equations of motions to be solved. Results from simulations indicate that hematocrit has considerable effects on instantaneous flow patterns and wall shear stress. Comparing flow patterns for different level of hematocrit shows marked differences between them especially at deceleration phases.