Multi-parameter analysis of the effects on hydraulic performance and hemolysis of blood pump splitter blades

Abstract

The splitter blade can effectively optimize pump performance, but there is still insufficient research in blood pumps that cover both hydraulic and hemolysis performance. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of key factors related to splitter blade on the performance and flow field of axial flow blood pump. In this study, the number of splitter blades, the axial length, and the circumferential offset were chosen as three objects of study. An analysis of the flow field and performance of the pump by orthogonal array design using computational fluid mechanics was carried out. A set of hydraulic and particle image velocimetry experiments of the model pumps were performed. The result showed that the pump had greater hydraulic performance without sacrificing its hemolytic performance when it had two splitter blades, the axial length ratio was 0.6, and the circumferential offset was 15°. Based on these reference data, the splitter blade may contribute to greater hydraulic performance of the pump and cause no side effect on the velocity distribution of the flow field. This finding provides an effective method for the research, development, and application of structural improvement of the axial flow blood pump.