Analysis of the Casson and Carreau-Yasuda non-Newtonian blood models in steady and oscillatory flows using the lattice Boltzmann method

The lattice Boltzmann method is modified to allow the simulation of non-Newtonian shear-dependent viscosity models. Casson and Carreau-Yasuda non-Newtonian blood viscosity models are implemented and are used to compare two-dimensional Newtonian and non-Newtonian flows in the context of simple steady flow and oscillatory flow in straight and curved pipe geometries. It is found that compared to analogous Newtonian flows, both the Casson and Carreau-Yasuda flows exhibit significant differences in the steady flow situation. In the straight pipe oscillatory flows, both models exhibit differences in velocity and shear, with the largest differences occurring at low Reynolds and Womersley numbers. Larger differences occur for the Casson model. In the curved pipe Carreau-Yasuda model, moderate differences are observed in the velocities in the central regions of the geometries, and the largest shear rate differences are observed near the geometry walls. These differences may be important for the study of atherosclerotic progression. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.