Abstract
A magnetically suspended centrifugal blood pump has no valve and operates differently from a pulsatile heart. Therefore, it is important to understand fluid transient flow in the cardiovascular system which is induced by the change of rotational speed of the pump. First, the unsteady characteristic of the pump is studied and the unsteady factor is shown to be negligible at 1 Hz. Second, stepwise change of the rotational speed of the pump in a mock circulation is studied. On the characteristic curves of pumps and resistances the operating points shift almost as expected. Moreover, from the corresponding variations observed in the flow rate and in the pressure at the inlet and outlet, the compliances and resistances in the circulation are identified.
