A study on the constitutive equation of blood.

This paper proposes and studies a new three-parameter constitutive equation for whole human blood, tau = tau y+eta 2 gamma 1/2 + eta 1 gamma. The model aims at a proper description of the shear thinning behavior of blood at both low and high shear rates. While empirically based, it relies on continuum constitutive theories. The model has been verified by fitting the experimental data available in the literature using the weighted least squares. Results show that the proposed model fits the experimental data with nearly constant parameters in a wide shear range, and with average deviations epsilon less than 6.24%. Formulae to calculate the velocity profile and flow rate of the proposed model in a straight tube flow were deduced. Compared to Casson's and Newtonian models, it is concluded that the proposed model is more effective in describing the shear thinning behavior of blood within a wide shear range.