Significance of Extensional Stresses to Red Blood Cell Lysis in a Shearing Flow

Traditionally, an empirical power-law model relating hemolysis to shear stress and exposure time has been used to estimate hemolysis related to flow—however, this basis alone has been insufficient in attempts to predict hemolysis through computational fluid dynamics. Because of this deficiency, we sought to re-examine flow features related to hemolysis in a shearing flow by computationally modeling a set of classic experiments performed in a capillary tube. Simulating 21 different flows of varying entrance contraction ratio, flowrate and viscosity, we identified hemolysis threshold streamlines and analyzed the stresses present. Constant damage thresholds for radial and axial extensional stresses of approximately 3000 Pa for exposure times on the order of microseconds were observed, while no such threshold was found for the maximum shear stress or gradient of the shear stress. The extensional flow seen at the entrance of the capillary appears to be most consistently related to hemolysis. An account of how extensional stresses can lead to lysis of a red cell undergoing tank-tread motion in a shearing flow is provided. This work shows that extensional components of the stress tensor are integral in causing hemolysis for some flows, and should be considered when attempting to predict hemolysis computationally.