The Shape Optimization Of The Rotor Blades Of An Axial Blood Pump Based On The Analysis Of Hemolysis And Thromboembolic Performance

Heart failure(HF)is a cardiovascular disease that endangers the lives of thousandsof cardiac patients.To address the need of supply circulatory support to patientswith HF,a variety of ventricular assist devices(VADs)have been proposed anddeveloped over the past four decades.These VADs have helped numerous people keep healthy,however,these VADs also result in hemolysis and thrombosis.Therefore,VADs with low hemolysis and pressure head of 100 mmHg when the mass flow rate is 5L/min,are still needed to be developed.In this paper,several axial blood pumps have been developed and numerical method has been applied in the optimization of the rotor blades of an axial blood pump.In addition,experiments have been carried out to investigate the effects of non-physical shear stress on both hemolysis and platelet activation.The work that has been completed is presented as follows:1)The effect of different distances ? on hemolysis and pressure head hasbeen carried out with numerical method.2)Two hemolysis models with two sets of parameters have been compared in theanalysis of the effect of ? on hemolysis.3)By combining a computer-aided designpackage,a geometry model generator(pro/e),a mesh generator(ICEM CFD),and a CFD solver(FLUENT 15.0)inan automationenvironment with process integration and optimization software(Modefrontier),the optimization of the rotor blades of axial blood pumps hasbeen carried out.In addition,hemolysis,backflow index and thromboembolicperformance are objective functions,and Pareto-optimal designs were obtainedthrough numerical optimization.4)The distribution of hemolysis and stress accumulation have been studied.Results showed that the shape of rotor blades plays a critical role in thehemolysis of the straightener zone.5)The effects of non-physical shear stress on both hemolysis and plateletactivation have been studied.