Blood rheology in microvessel networks (Professor Carr)

Kingsbury S325

My research focuses on blood rheology in microvessel networks. I am interested in Fahreus effect (reduction in blood cell concentration in small bore vessels), the Fahreus-Lindqvist effect (reduction in apparent viscosity in small bore vessels) and plasma skimming (the separation of cellular and plasma phases that occurs at the junction of small bore vessels. Currently I am working on a model of blood flow through networks which incorporate each of these rheological effects. Computational results present interesting nonlinear dynamics including fixed point attractors, limit cycles, and changes in the character and geometry of the attractor akin to period doubling. Experimental measurements are planned to verify these computational results.