Coupling the lattice-Boltzmann and spectrin-link methods for the direct numerical simulation of cellular blood flow

The implementation of a spectrin-link (SL) red blood cell (RBC) membrane method coupled with a lattice-Boltzmann (LB) fluid solver is discussed. Details of the methodology are included along with subtleties associated with its integration into a massively parallel hybrid LB finite element (FE) suspension flow solver. A comparison of the computational performance of the coupled LB-SL method with that of the previously implemented LB-FE is given for an isolated RBC and for a dense suspension in Hagen-Poiseuille flow. Validating results for RBCs isolated in shear and parachuting in microvessel flow are also presented. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.