Two-Dimensional Computational Flow Analysis and Frictional Characteristics Model for Red Blood Cell under Inclined Centrifuge Microscopy

Abstract

Simplified two-dimensional flow analysis is performed in order to simulate frictional characteristics measurement of red blood cells moving on a glass plate in a medium with an inclined centrifuge microscope. Computation under various conditions reveals the influences of parameters on lift, drag, and moment acting on a red blood cell. Among these forces, lift appears only when the cell is longitudinally asymmetric. By considering the balance of forces, the frictional characteristics of the red blood cell are modeled as the sum of Coulomb friction and viscous drag. The model describes the possibility that the red blood cell deforms to expand in the front side in response to the inclined centrifugal force. When velocity exceeds some critical value, the lift overcomes the normal centrifugal force component, and the thickness of the plasma layer between the cell and the glass plate increases from the initial value of the plasma protein thickness.