Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Study of the 4th Generation Prototype of a Continuous Flow Ventricular Assist Device (VAD)

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinwei Song ◽  
Houston G. Wood ◽  
Don Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Blood Flow ◽  
Ventricular Assist Device ◽  
Continuous Flow ◽  
Surrounding Tissue ◽  
Assist Device ◽  
Ventricular Assist ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics Cfd

The continuous flow ventricular assist device (VAD) is a miniature centrifugal pump, fully suspended by magnetic bearings, which is being developed for implantation in humans. The CF4 model is the first actual prototype of the final design product. The overall performances of blood flow in CF4 have been simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software: CFX, which is commercially available from ANSYS Inc. The flow regions modeled in CF4 include the inlet elbow, the five-blade impeller, the clearance gap below the impeller, and the exit volute. According to different needs from patients, a wide range of flow rates and revolutions per minute (RPM) have been studied. The flow rate-pressure curves are given. The streamlines in the flow field are drawn to detect stagnation points and vortices that could lead to thrombosis. The stress is calculated in the fluid field to estimate potential hemolysis. The stress is elevated to the decreased size of the blood flow paths through the smaller pump, but is still within the safe range. The thermal study on the pump, the blood and the surrounding tissue shows the temperature rise due to magnetoelectric heat sources and thermal dissipation is insignificant. CFD simulation proved valuable to demonstrate and to improve the performance of fluid flow in the design of a small size pump.

scholarly journals Computational Fluid Dynamics-Based Design Optimization for an Implantable Miniature Maglev Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingchun Wu ◽  
James F. Antaki ◽  
Josiah Verkaik ◽  
Shaun Snyder ◽  
Michael Ricci
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Design Optimization ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Ventricular Assist Device ◽  
Flow Path ◽  
Flow Section ◽  
Rotor Speed ◽  
Assist Device ◽  
Ventricular Assist

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based design optimization was applied to achieve the finalized design of the PediaFlow® PF4, a magnetically levitated rotodynamic pediatric ventricular assist device. It features a streamlined blood-flow path with a single annular fluid passage between the rotor and the stationary housing. The resulting impeller is composed of a first-stage mixed-flow section having four blades at the conical nose region followed by a second-stage fully axial-flow section with three blades within the annular gap region. A stator with three inwardly-directed vanes is provided at the conical tail region to recover pressure and straighten the flow. CFD predictions of head and efficiency characteristics agreed remarkably well with the validation experimental data: with overprediction of head by <7 mmHg over the entire operational range and a slight overprediction in best efficiency by ∼1%. The new optimized PF4 extended the maximum flow range of the previous PF3 device by more than 100% to over 2.3 liter per minute (LPM) for the same range of operating speeds, and doubled the maximum hydraulic efficiency to ∼27%. Evaluation of hemolysis was performed by a Lagrangian particle-tracking technique with analysis of regional contributions to the overall blood damage. The simulation revealed that hemolysis increases with an increase in both the flow rate and rotor speed but not necessarily with just an increase in flow rate at a constant rotor speed. At the flow rate of 1.0 LPM and a head of 138 mmHg, PF4 has a hemolysis index of 0.0032 compared to 0.0058 produced by PF3 at the same flow rate with a head of 48 mmHg. Numerical simulation of radial fluid forces performed by the CFD model with an eccentric rotor revealed the presence of negative fluid stiffness that was monotonically related to both flow and speed. Finally, conjugate heat transfer analysis predicted temperature rise adjacent to the motor to be inversely proportional to the length, but not exceeding ∼2 °C over the intended range of operation. In conclusion, CFD-based design optimization greatly expedited and facilitated the completion of the PediaFlow® flow path and contributed to the system-wide optimization to produce a miniature maglev pump with exceptional hemocompatibility.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document