Blood is a special fluid. It is not like water. We call it a non-Newtonian fluid because its thickness, or viscosity, changes as it moves. This is because blood is full of tiny cells. When your heart beats, it pushes blood in waves, which we call pulsatile flow. Studying this Non-newtonian Blood Flow is very important for our health. Using a powerful computer simulation, known as Non-newtonian Blood In Artery CFD, doctors and engineers can see exactly how blood moves inside our arteries. This hemodynamics simulation helps us understand problems like clogged arteries. A good Non-newtonian Blood In Artery Fluent analysis, using special tools like the Carreau model for viscosity and the Discrete Phase Model (DPM) for tracking cells, is key to designing better medical tools like stents and artificial hearts. This study is based on the trusted methods from the National Center for Biotechnology Information [1].

Simulation Process: Fluent Setup, Defining Pulsatile, Non-Newtonian Flow with DPM

*** Mesh Independence study: A mesh independence study is conducted for the current project to find the most accurate grid with the least computational cost. The table represents the results:

After thorough analysis, the grid with 570571 cells is selected.

For this Artery CFD simulation, we first built a 3D model of an artery from real MRI images. To make sure our results were accurate, we performed a mesh independence study and chose a final grid with 570,571 cells. The most important step was to tell the computer how blood behaves. In ANSYS Fluent, we used the Carreau model to define blood as a non-Newtonian fluid whose thickness changes with speed. To copy the heart’s natural beat, we wrote a special code called a User-Defined Function (UDF) to create a pulsatile flow at the artery inlet. Finally, we turned on the Discrete Phase Model (DPM) to release 851 massless particles into the flow. This allowed us to track the path of individual blood cells as they traveled through the artery.

Figure 1: The final mesh of the artery model for the Non-newtonian Blood CFD analysis.

Post-processing: CFD Analysis, Visualizing Blood Cell Trajectories and Residence Time

The pathline contour provides a clear, professional visual of the blood cells’ journey. The simulation shows that the cells do not move in simple straight lines. Instead, they follow complex, curved paths that twist and turn with the artery’s shape. This twisting motion is caused by the pulsatile flow from the heart. Some cells travel quickly through the center of the artery, while others move slower and closer to the walls. This professional contour maps the complete path for all 851 particles. Understanding these exact pathways is very important for doctors because it shows how medicine might travel in the bloodstream or where dangerous blood clots could start to form.

Figure 2:  Particle residence time from the Artery Fluent analysis, showing areas where blood cells linger.

The particle residence time contour tells us how long blood cells stay in different parts of the artery. This is a very important piece of information for understanding oxygen delivery. The results show that most particles stay in the vessel for about 0.910 to 1.00 seconds. The professional visual also shows that where the artery splits (the bifurcation), the flow slows down, and some particles linger there for a longer time. This slowing is a direct result of the blood’s non-Newtonian properties. The most important achievement of this simulation is the successful integration of a pulsatile UDF, the non-Newtonian Carreau model, and DPM particle tracking to create a highly realistic model of blood flow, providing a powerful and validated tool for predicting hemodynamic behavior that is critical for cardiovascular research and the development of life-saving medical devices.

Figure 3: Blood flow pathlines from the Non-newtonian Blood Fluent simulation, showing the complex trajectories of particles.