Uniformity of the fluid flow velocities within hollow fiber membranes of blood oxygenation devices.

A finite volume-based computational model was developed to investigate the uniformity of the fluid flow across the hollow fiber membranes in blood oxygenation devices. A two-dimensional annular cross section of a blood oxygenation device including about 3,300 hollow fiber membranes was used in the computation model. The equations governing the steady incompressible laminar flow in the blood oxygenation device were solved numerically and the results were compared with those obtained from the equivalent porous medium approximation. For the porous medium approximation, the Ergun equation was used for evaluating the permeability. The simulation results showed that the fluid molecules spend about six times longer in the fiber bundle region than that in its equivalent porous medium approximation model. The computational model also provides a more detailed fluid flow pattern in the membrane compartment of the blood oxygenator.