Study of fluids in motion is closely

related to biology and medicine.

L. M. Poiseuille (1799–1869),
was a French physician whose study of
moving fluids was motivated by his
interest in the flow of blood through the
body.
 Bernoulli’s Equation
If frictional losses are neglected:

P + ρgh + ½ ρv2 = Constant

For h1 = h2,

P1 + ½ ρv12 = P2 + ½ ρv22
Viscosity and Poiseuille’s Law
 Due to viscous friction, velocity of a fluid flowing
through a pipe varies across the pipe. The velocity is
highest at the center and d ecreasestoward the walls, at
the walls, the fluid is stationary. Such flow is called
laminar.

 The rate of laminar flow:

Q = πR4(P1 −P2)/(8ηL)
 Bernoulli’s equation: A frictionless fluid will flow
steadily without an external force
 Poiseuille’s equation: pressure drop always
accompanies viscous fluid flow.
P1 −P2 = Q8ηL/πR4
 Product of pressure drop and area is the force required
to overcome the frictional forces
 But if the area is large, frictional losses and the
pressure drop can be neglected
Turbulent Flow
 Circulation of Blood
 Blood is pumped by the heart, it leaves the heart through
arteries and returns to it through veins
 Blood brings oxygen, nutrients, to the cells and removes
the metabolic waste from the cells.
 The right side of the heart pumps the blood through the
lungs, the left side pumps it through the rest of the body.
 In its passage through the lungs, the blood releases carbon
dioxide and absorbs oxygen.
 aorta, carries the oxygenated blood away from the left
chamber of the heart, branches into smaller arteries, which
lead to the various parts of the body.
 Blood Pressure
 Because of the pumping action of the heart, blood
enters the arteries in pulses. The maximum pressure at
the peak of the pulse is called systolic pressure. The
lowest pressure is called the diastolic pressure.
 In a young healthy individual the systolic pressure is
about 120 torr (mm Hg) and the diastolic pressure is
about 80 torr.
 The average pressure at heart level is 100 torr.
 Initial energy provided by the pumping action is
dissipated by two loss mechanisms: expansion and
contraction of arterial walls, and viscous friction
associated with the flow
 Due to these energy losses, the average pressure drops
 The pressure drops is close to zero just before
returning to the heart. The movement of blood is
aided by the contraction of muscles that squeezethe
blood toward the heart.
 Main arteries in the body have a relatively large radius
(aorta: 1 cm), the pressure drop along the arteries is
small.
 When body is horizontal, the average arterial pressure
is constant throughout the body.
 If a person is standing, the blood pressure in the
arteries is not uniform
 Average pressure in the head, 50 cm above the heart is
Phead = Pheart −ρgh = 61 torr.
 In the feet, 130 cm below the heart, the arterial pressure
is 200 torr
 A person may feel dizzy as she jumps up from a prone
position due to the sudden decrease in the blood
pressure of the brain arteries
 The blood pressure in veins is lower than in arteries.
 When a person stands motionless, blood pressure is
barely adequate to force the blood from the feet back
to the heart. Thus when a person sits or stands without
muscular movement, blood gathers in the veins of the
legs. This increases the pressure in the capillaries and
may cause temporary swelling of the legs.
 Control of Blood Flow
 The pumping action of the heart is regulated by a
variety of hormones
 Hormones affecting the heart are produced in
response to stimuli such as need for more oxygen,
changes in body temperature, and various types of
emotional stress.
 The flow of blood to specific parts of the body is
controlled by the arterioles.
 The contraction of the arterioles reduces the blood
flow to that region and diverts it to another
 Arteriosclerosis and Blood Flow
 Arteriosclerosis is the most common of cardiovascular
diseases.
 In arteriosclerosis, the arterial wall becomes thickened,
and the artery is narrowed by deposits called plaque.
 The blood flow through the region of constriction is
speeded up. As a result, the blood pressure drops
 Because of the low pressure inside the artery, the external
pressure may actually close off the artery and block the
flow of blood.
 When such a blockage occurs in the coronary artery, which
supplies blood to the heart muscle, the heart stops
functioning.
 A 50% narrowing (stenosis) of arterial area is
considered moderate. Stenosis above 80% is considered
critical because blood flow becomes turbulent with
inherently larger energy dissipation
 The pressure drop in the situation is larger. And
turbulent flow can damage the circulatory system
because parts of the flow are directed toward the artery
wall rather than parallel to it
 The blood impinging on the arterial wall may dislodge
some of the plaque deposit and clog a narrower part of the
artery. Blood flow to the brain is interrupted causing an
ischemic stroke.
 There is another problem. The natural frequency of a
healthy artery is in the range 1 to 2 kilohertz. Deposits of
plaque cause an increase in the mass of the arterial wall
and a decrease in its elasticity. As a result, the natural
frequency of the artery is decreased, often down to a few
hundred hertz.
 The plaque coated artery with its lowered natural
frequency may now be set into resonant vibrational
motion, which may dislodge plaque deposits or cause
further damageto the arterial wall
Measurement of Blood Pressure
 Blood pressure can be measured directly by inserting a
vertical glass tube into an artery and observing the
height to which the blood rises.
 Routine measurements are by the cut-off method. A
balloon is pressured greater than the systolic pressure.
Flow of blood through the artery is therefore cut off.
Then pressure in the balloon falls slowly by releasing
some of the air. No sound is heard until the pressure in
the balloon decreases to the systolic pressure.
 Just below this point the blood begins to flow through
the artery. Since the artery is still partially constricted,
the flow is turbulent and accompanied by a
characteristic sound. The pressure recorded as the
systolic blood pressure.
 Pressure in the balloon drops further, the artery
expands to its normal size, the flow becomes laminar,
and the noise disappears. The pressure is taken as the
diastolic pressure.
Thank You