Bladeless Heart Pump Design: Modeling and Numerical Analysis

Abstract

In this paper, the design of a new type of heart pump is presented. The uniqueness of this pump concept is that the mechanical energy is transferred to the fluid by the rotation of flat disks without blades. Both theoretical and numerical analysis are used to determine the pump design parameters. The pump design parameters are calculated using the Navier-Stokes equations. The application of computational fluid dynamics is used to define the geometric design. The pump head and flow have to be within strictly defined limits to ensure normal blood circulation. The negative impact of the pump on the blood must be minimal (no stagnation and recirculation zones, shear stress in the acceptable range). It is also important to achieve the smallest possible pump volume. For the pump operating point of ∆p = 65 mmHg, Q = 5.43 L/min, and ω = 6000 rpm, the design parameters are inner radius R1 = 12 mm, outer radius R2 = 15 mm, the distance between disk of h = 1 mm, and the number of disks is n = 6. The shear stress in the rotor is in range 46–108 Pa and the pump residence time is 0.0194 s.

Keywords

• bladeless heart pump
• hemocompatibility
• computational fluid dynamics