Numerical Simulation of the Coagulation Dynamics of Blood

Abstract

The process of platelet activation and blood coagulation is quite complex and not yet completely understood. Recently, a phenomenological meaningful model of blood coagulation and clot formation in flowing blood that extends existing models to integrate biochemical, physiological and rheological factors, has been developed. The aim of this paper is to present results from a computational study of a simplified version of this coupled fluid-biochemistry model. A generalized Newtonian model with shear-thinning viscosity has been adopted to describe the flow of blood. To simulate the biochemical changes and transport of various enzymes, proteins and platelets involved in the coagulation process, a set of coupled advection–diffusion–reaction equations is used. Three-dimensional numerical simulations are carried out for the whole model in a straight vessel with circular cross-section, using a finite volume semi-discretization in space, on structured grids, and a multistage scheme for time integration. Clot formation and growth are investigated in the vicinity of an injured region of the vessel wall. These are preliminary results aimed at showing the validation of the model and of the numerical code.