Abstract
The lattice Botlzmann method (LBM) for two-phase flows containing a deformable body with a viscoelastic membrane is improved to simulate circular pipe flows by incorporation of the immersed boundary method. The method is applied to the motion of a biconcave discoidal body in pressure-driven pipe flows. The validation of the red blood cell (RBC) model is demonstrated by investigating the relation between the deformation index and terminal streamwise velocity of the RBC in circular pipe flow. In addition, the behavior of a biconcave discoidal body in constricted pipe flows is simulated under various geometrical conditions. These results indicate that the present method is applicable to simulation of the motion of RBCs in microscale capillary blood vessels.
