ENT 318/3

Artificial Organs
Mass transport processes of
membrane artificial lung

Lecturer
Normahira Mamat @ Mohamad Nor
normahira@unimap.edu.my

Gas transport in blood

By Henrys Law, the concentration of dissolved O2, Cd;

Cd = o2 Po2
Where o2 is the O2 solubility coefficient (mol m-3kPa-1) and
Po2 is the oxygen partial pressure (kPa).
The amount of oxygen combined with haemoglobin is given by
fractional saturation, S.
If all haemoglobin is combined with oxygen it is said to be fully
saturated and S = 1.0.

Cb = Bo2 Hb S
Where Hb is the mass concentration of haemoglobin (kg/m3) and
Bo2 is the binding capacity of haemoglobin (5.978 x 10-2 mol/kg)

Fluid flow in tubes

Length L
Fluid of
viscosity

Flow
Q
P1

P2

Fig. Schematic of flow in a tube

P1 is always greater than P2 if:

a) the tube is uniform in area and shape
b) there is no acceleration (constant flow with time)
c) the tube is horizontal

Poiseuille Flow
There may be Poiseuille flow if:
a) flow is steady
b) flow is fully developed (away from entrances,
discontinuities, bends)
c) the tube is uniform

P1 P2

128 L Q
P
d4
is the pressure loss
is the length of pipe
is the dynamic viscosity
is the volumetric flow rate

or

8 LQ
r4

Features of Poiseuille Flow

Fluid particles move in streamlines parallel to the tube walls
axisymmetric flow.
These streamlines may be visualised by:
injection of dye or neutral density particles,
or using Doppler techniques (Ultrasound or Laser light)

Uc
Ur

Fig. Schematic showing the features of Poiseuille Flow

Note that the centre line velocity Uc = 2 U and velocity at the wall Uw =
0 (the no-slip condition)
The distribution of fluid velocities across the tube (velocity profile) is
parabolic.

Entrance Flow

Fig. 15.3 Schematic of how a fluid enters a tube

a) at the entrance, all the fluid moves at the same velocity (flat profile)
b) the tube surface retards the fluid (no-slip condition Ud = 0)
c) viscosity modifies the initial flat velocity profile as more of the
fluid is sheared. Fluid at the centre of the tube must then be accelerated
as fluid nearer the tube wall is slowed (Law of conservation of mass)
d) far from the entrance, the flow will become parabolic

Effects of shear on blood components

In the healthy circulation, the shear stress even at the blood vessel wall is
normally less than 10 Nm-2, but can be much higher in various disease
states or in artificial organs.
Erythrocytes are very deformable and bend very easily.
1 - 10 Nm-2: cells spin less then at lower shear and tend to align
with their flay axis parallel to the flow (alignment tends to
decrease viscosity)
>10 Nm-2: cells are elongated to cigar shapes
>150 Nm-2: membranes are stretched and become leaky, first
losing ions and later haemoglobin, leading to haemolysis

Diffusion

Diffusion transport occurs because of the intrinsic motion (Brownian

motion) of the molecules in a material.
Diffusion and heat transport occur through molecular motion and the
equations used to describe them are completely analogous.
When molecular motion is rapid (as in a gas) diffusion will occur faster
than when the molecules are constrained (as in a solid)

Steady state diffusion

When diffusion in a system is occurring at a constant rate, it is said to
be in a steady state and can be expressed using Fick's 1st law:

da
J DA
dx

J = flux (mass/time)
D = Diffusion coefficient
A = area across which diffusion occurs
a = activity coefficient
x = distance along which diffusion occurs

aC
Activity:
= activity coefficient
C = concentration (mass/volume).
For "ideal" solutions, = 1 and the assumption of ideality is
commonly made for aqueous solutions in biology.

Diffusion in the body

da
J DA
dx
In the microcirculation (systemic and pulmonary)
a) the surface area (A) is large
b) distances between the blood and surrounding tissues (x) is small.

Diffusion in the body

On integrating the Fick equation for small diffusion gradients:
D ~ x2/2t
x = typical diffusion distance
t = diffusion time
Diffusion times for O2 in tissue
1 cm
~
16 hrs
1 mm ~
8 min
100 m ~
5 sec

Permeability Coefficients
Diffusion through complex systems such as the endothelial layer is often
difficult to define in terms of the solubilities and the dimensions
diffusion distances etc) of each of the components (membranes, cells,
fibres, matrix materials etc).
To overcome these problems it is convenient to define a permeability
coefficients (P) using the equation:

J = P A C
Where P = permeability coefficient and J is the mass flux in the absence
of any fluid movement.
For diffusion into or out of cells, C = Cin -Cout

Diffusion with reaction

Oxygen diffusing into the blood in the lungs or an oxygenator reacts
with haemoglobin, with the result that the concentration of free O2 in
the blood remains at a very low level. This maintains a high gradient for
diffusion.
dC/dt = diffusion flux + reaction rate
Case 1: Rapid reaction:
Overall rate determined by transport rate e.g. CO2 uptake rate in lungs is
determined by rate at which it is delivered to blood - limited by
diffusion across alveolar surface.
Case 2: Slow reaction:
Rate of transport of a material is determined by the rate at which it is
removed by reaction, e.g. O2 delivery to metabolising tissues.

Hydrodynamic boundary layer

This is the layer in which the velocity of fluid is increasing with distance
from the wall.
That is the region in which viscous retardation is having an important role
in determining flow patterns.
In Poiseuille flow the boundary layer thickness () = r (the tube radius).
At the entrance to the tube, the layer is thin:
The growth of the boundary layer depends on the balance between the
inertia of the fluid and the retarding viscous forces.

Interaction of convection with diffusion

When convective and diffusive transport are occurring in the same (or
exactly opposite) directions:
Total flux = Jdiffusion + Jconvection
though convection is likely to distort diffusion (concentration) gradients,
so there will be interaction.

Mass transport boundary layers

On plotting the position reached by the material, we describe the "mass
transport boundary layer (MTBL)

Fig. Schematic of mass boundary layer

m is the thickness of the layer at position L along the tube. As the MTBL
thickens, the gradient for diffusion between the wall and the fluid
decreases, reducing the rate of mass transport into the fluid. In the steady
state, the rate of diffusion into the fluid equals the rate of convection
downstream.

Question
Two membrane oxygenators X and Y are operated in series. A
total transfer rate of 3.0 x 10-4 mol/s is achieved when a blood
flow rate of 1.0 x 10-4 mol/s passes through the series
combination. The O2 saturation at inlet of X and outlet of Y 0.65
and 0.95 respectively. Calculate the hemoglobin
concentration. Given that BO2 = 0.0598 mol/kg.
Answer : 167.22kg/m3

Analysis for O2 Transfer: Advancing

Front Theory

Consideration for tubular geometry, no membrane resistance and

laminar flow.

Assumptions of the model are:

Oxygen transport in the outer zone is due to radial diffusion of
dissolved oxygen only
Axial convection of dissolved oxygen is neglected in the outer
zone
The axial decrease in the rate of convective transfer of
unoxygenated haemoglobin in the core is equal to the diffusive
flux if dissolved oxygen from the outer zone.