Impeller flowmeters as a tool for assessing blood flow in an experimental test bench

Abstract

Many scientific groups are engaged in the development of experimental stands for assessing blood flow through large arteries. Such stands are used to verify the results of numerical modeling, as well as for direct analysis of hemodynamics or the behavior of vascular walls or biological tissue substitutes. When developing stands, a task arises which is selecting and calibrating flowmeters that are used to measure blood flow at the entrance to the vessel and at its exits. Ultrasonic devices are quite expensive, the cost of vane flowmeters is an order of magnitude lower, but their readings may be unreliable due to the fact that they may have high hydraulic resistance. In this work,  impeller flowmeters of the YF-S401 model (China) were investigated. Calibration was carried out, numerical simulation of the impeller rotation under the water flow action flowing through the flowmeters was performed, their modernization was carried out, and hydraulic resistances before and after modernization were calculated. Flowmeters were used in an experimental stand based on a pump that simulates the work of a human heart. The volumetric blood flow at the entrance to the carotid artery model with stenosis and at the exits from the internal and external carotid arteries were measured at the stand. The measured values were compared with similar characteristics obtained by numerical simulation. It was revealed that in order to use flowmeters in an experimental stand to study the dynamics of blood flow, their modernization is necessary. The modernization consisted of increasing the diameter of the inlet. Before  modernization, the flow meter readings and the results of numerical modeling diverged by more than 50%. After modernization, the results of numerical modeling and flow meter readings began to differ by no more than 6%. A program has been developed that allows you to automatically collect data on blood flow from wing flowmeters. An experimental stand assembled on the basis of a pump that simulates the work of the heart and wing flowmeters can be used to evaluate blood flows using models of large human vessels.

Keywords

• biomechanics
• bloodflow
• flowmeter
• hydraulic resistance
• pressure drop
• numerical simulation