Blood flow in stenosed arteries with radially variable viscosity, peripheral plasma layer thickness and magnetic field

Abstract

A novel approach of combined mathematical and computational models has been developed to investigate the oscillatory two-layered flow of blood through arterial stenosis in the presence of a transverse uniform magnetic field applied. Blood in the core region and plasma fluid in the peripheral layer region are assumed to obey the law of Newtonian fluid. An analytical solution is obtained for velocity profile and volumetric flow rate in the peripheral plasma region and also wall shear stress. Finite difference method is employed to solve the momentum equation for the core region. The numerical solutions for velocity, flow rate and flow resistance are computed. The effects of various parameters associated with the present flow problem such as radially variable viscosity, hematocrit, plasma layer thickness, magnetic field and pulsatile Reynolds number on the physiologically important flow characteristics namely velocity distribution, flow rate, wall shear stress and resistance to flow have been investigated. It is observed that the velocity increases with the increase of plasma layer thickness. An increase or a decrease in the velocity and wall shear stress against the increase in the value of magnetic parameter (Hartmann number) and hematocrit is dependent on the value of t. An increase in magnetic field leads to an increase in the flow resistance and it decreases with the increase in the plasma layer thickness and pulsatile Reynolds number. The information concerning the phase lag between the flow characteristics and how it is affected by the hematocrit, plasma layer thickness and Hartmann number has, for the first time, been added to the literature.