Red blood cell simulation using a coupled shell-fluid analysis purely based on the SPH method

If the rheological behavior of a Red-Blood-Cell (RBC) changes, for example due to some infection, it is reflected in its deformability when it passes through the microvessels. It can severely affect its proper function which is providing the oxygen and nutrient to the living cells. In this research project, a novel 3D numerical method has been developed to simulate RBCs based on the interaction between a shell-like solid structure and a fluid. RBC is assumed to be a thin shell encapsulating an internal fluid (Cytoplasm) which is submerged in an external fluid (blood plasma). The approach is entirely based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method for both fluid and the shell structure. The method was motivated by the goal to benefit from the Lagrangian and meshless features of SPH in order to handle several complexities in the problem due to the coupling between the RBC membrane as a deformable elastic shell and interior/exterior fluids.