Structural improvement study of streamline design method, conical hub, and auxiliary blades for axial blood pump

Abstract

The blood pump is a medical device used to assist or replace the diseased heart. Research on the structure of blood pumps has been committed to achieving better hemolysis and hydraulic performance. The purpose of this study was to find some effective ways to improve design methods and hydraulic structures. The research contents of improvement include: (1) improved blade streamline design method; (2) conical impeller hub; (3) additional auxiliary blades. Characteristic analysis and parameter design were carried out on the above three aspects. The methods used in this study included Dynamics (CFD) simulation, hydraulic experiments, and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) experiments. The results showed that this improved streamline design method could improve the distortion of blades and ensure a smaller impeller length. And, in the enhanced design of the hub, it is designed to be conical with inlet and outlet diameters of 7.5 and 12.8 mm, respectively. Furthermore, the auxiliary blades between the main blades are analyzed and designed. The results have the best performance optimization effect when the length of the auxiliary blades is 55% of the main blades. In general, the structural improvements in this study achieved the effect of improving hydraulic performance and avoiding increased hemolysis. These methods can be considered as an effective means of improving blood pump performance.