A microscopic study on the rheological properties of human blood in low concentration limit

Abstract

A microscopic theoretical study is performed to predict the rheological properties of human blood in the low concentration limit. The shear thinning behavior of blood in the low shear limit is studied by considering the aggregate formation of red blood cells, which is called the rouleaux formation. Then the constitutive equations of blood in the high shear limit are derived for various flow situations by considering the unique features of deformation of blood cells. Specifically, the effects of the surface-area-preserving constraint and the tank treading motion of blood cells on the rheological properties are studied.