Mechanical Engineering 2003
Area of Doctoral Study: Mechanical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Lincoln University
Graduate Institution: Drexel University
Research Advisor: Charles Eggleton, Ph.D.
Current: Mechanical Engineer at Aberdeen Proving Ground and Part-time Instructor, UMBC
Description of Research
The deformation of the Red Blood Cell (RBC) membrane directly affects the hydrodynamics properties of whole blood, which has a normal hematocrit of approximately 0.45. One of the properties directly affected is that of viscosity. Predictions of changes in viscosity effects due to cell deformation as well as an understanding of the stresses applied to the RBC membrane will provide insights in the design of better circulatory prosthetic devices such as artificial valves and pumps.
The present research is investigating the dynamic simulation of a RBC membrane in an extensional flow. The Evans-Skalak (1980) strain energy function is used to model the RBC membrane; stresses and deformation in the model are analyzed to gain insight into the behavior of the Red Blood Cell Membrane.