Convective diffusion from a non-uniformly distributed source in flowing blood

Abstract

The experimental evaluation of solute diffusivity in blood in or near a zero shear rate region poses difficulties, particularly at low hematocrits. This work studies the pertinent theoretical aspects of a possible flow technique which may circumvent these difficulties. The dispersion in a Casson fluid flowing laminarly in a circular tube is studied under the conditions when a solute is injected continuously but non-uniformly from a centrally placed source. The plots of centreline concentration decay as a function of the axial distance as well as the radial concentration profiles are made and their significance for evaluating the diffusivity is critically discussed.