Erythrocyte destruction during turbulent mixing

Destruction of erythrocyte cells in a high shear environment has been investigated during turbulent conditions. It has been observed that shear stress generated in viscous sub-range of turbulence is capable of destroying erythrocytes, although viscous sub-range has been so far considered generally safe for cells. The multifractal theory of turbulence has been proposed to explain erythrocyte cells destruction in this case. Two hypotheses of cell rupture, both based on a critical stress concept, were tested and kinetic constants for multifractal model as well as for Kolmogorov theory have been calculated. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.