• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers D
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• v.51 no.10
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• pp.477-482
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• 2002

One of the key technologic requirements for rotary blood pumps is the sealing of the motor shaft. A mechanical seal, a journal bearing, magnetic coupling, and magnetic suspension have been developed, but they have drawbacks such as wear, thrombus formation, and power consumption. A magnetic fluid seal is durable, simple, and non power consumptive. Long-term experiments confirmed these advantages. The seal body was composed of a Nd-Fe-B magnet and two pole pieces; the seal was formed by injecting magnetic fluid into the gap (50${\mu}m$) between the pole pieces and the motor shaft. To contain the ferro-fluid in the seal and to minimize the possibility of magnetic fluid making contact with blood, a shield with a small cavity was attached to the pole piece. While submerged in blood, the sealing pressure of the seal was measured and found to be 31kPa with magnetic fluid LS-40 (saturated magnetization, 24.3 KA/m) at a motor speed of 10,000 rpm and 53kPa under static conditions(0mmHg). The specially designed magnetic fluid seal for keeping liquids out is useful for axial flow blood pumps. The magnetic fluid seal was incorporated into an intra-cardiac axial flow blood pump.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers D
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• v.51 no.9
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• pp.431-437
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• 2002

Low hemolysis is one of the key factors in the production of successful rotary blood pumps. It is, however, difficult to identify the areas where hemolysis occurs. Computational fluid dynamics(CFD) analysis enables the engineer to predict hemolysis on a computer Fluid dynamics in five different axial flow pumps was analyzed 3-dimensionally using CFD software. The impeller was rotated at a speed which supplied a flow of 5L/min at a pressure difference of 100mmHg. Changes in the turbulent kinetic energy along streamlines through the pumps were computed. Reynolds' shear stress( (equation omitted) ) was calculated using the turbulent kinetic energy. Hemolysis was evaluated based on Reynolds'shear stress and its exposure time(t) : dHb/Hb=3.62$\times$10$^{-5}$ $t^{0.785}$$\tau$$^{2.416}$ . Hemolysis of the pumps was measured in vitro using fresh bovine blood to which citrate phosphate dextrose was added to prevent clotting. A pump flow of 5L/min was maintained at a pressure difference of 100mmHg for 3h. The normalized index of hemolysis(NIH) as measured. Reynolds' shear stress was high behind the impellers. The measured NIH and the calculated hemolysis(dHb/Hb) shoed a good correlation; NIH=0.0003(dHb/Hb) (r=0.90, n=6) in the range of NIH between 0.003 and 1.1. CFD analysis can predict the in vitro results of hemolysis as well as the areas where hemolysis occurs.ysis occurs.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.353-362
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• 2000

Minimization of hemolysis is one of the key factors for successful axial flow blood pumps. It is, however, difficult to estimate the hemolytic performance of axial flow blood pumps without experiments. Instead, the Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) analysis enables the prediction of hemolysis. Three-dimensional fluid dynamics of axial flow pumps with different impellers were analyzed using the CFD software, FLOTRAN. The turbulence model k-$\varepsilon$ was used. The changes in turbulent kinetic energy applied to each particle (red blood cell) flowing through the pumps were computed and displayed by the particle trace method (particle spacing of 10 msec). Also, the Reynolds shear stress was calculated from the turbulent kinetic energy. The shear stress was higher behind the impellers than elsewhere. The CFD analysis could predict in vitro results of hemolysis and also the areas where hemolysis occurred. The CFD analysis was found to be a useful tool for designing less hemolytic rotary blood pumps.