Cyclic Loading on the Red Cell Membrane in a Shear Flow: A Possible Cause of Hemolysis

Abstract

The fluid force acting on single human red cells in a high shear flow was analyzed. A two-dimensional elliptical microcapsule as a model of the deformed red cells was adopted to numerically calculate the distributions of the shear forces on both sides of the cell membrane. It is theoretically shown that the cell membrane undergoes an unsteady cyclic loading under the rotational motion around the interior. The mechanism leading to blood cell trauma is examined by repeatedly loading the continuously moving cell membrane.