EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF FLOW IN A BLADELESS ROTARY BLOOD PUMP USING PARTICLE IMAGE VELOCIMETRY

摘要

Development of an efficient rotary blood pump depends upon understanding its flow characteristics. This investigation focuses on obtaining the flow characteristics of the pump using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). A three-disc optically clear magnetic drive bladeless pump is investigated. The refractive indices of the impeller, pump casing material and the blood simulant liquid are matched (1.485) to minimize the light scattering at the liquid-solid interfaces. The blood simulant fluid is composed of sodium iodide solution, glycerin, and distiller water. Neutrally buoyant solver coated hollow glass spheres are used as seed particles for PIV. Measurements are made at representative flow rates at which the pump will operate when used as a cardiac assist device. An average of 700-1000 image pairs are analyzed using the cross-correlation technique to obtain the flow field. An ensemble size of 700 data sets results in an uncertainty level of ±1.3%.