LATTICE BOLTZMANN SIMULATION OF BLOOD FLOW USING TWO NON NEWTONIAN MODELS

Comprehensive biomechanical description of mechanical properties of blood would allow development of novel treatment strategies for many diseases, including atherosclerosis, arthritis, and cancer. In this paper, we have simulated the blood flow by using a two-dimensional lattice Boltzmann (LB) approach. We consider the blood as a non-Newtonian fluid. So a D2Q9 LB simulation in which the relaxation time is locally adjusted as a function of the local value of velocity gradient has been discussed. For the first time, the K-L model [1] in addition to the Casson's model has been implemented in the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The results obtained from these two non-Newtonian models are compared for a benchmark problem where analytical solutions exist. In addition, the agreement of numerical results with those of experimental observations of blood behavior has been numerically investigated. According to the mentioned comparisons, it is found that the LBM incorporating the K-L model produces accurate results and can be used as a proper tool to simulate blood flow.

Keywords:

blood flow , non-Newtonian , lattice boltzmann , Casson’s model , K-L model