MODELING FIBRIN POLYMERIZATION IN BLOOD FLOW WITH DISCRETE-PARTICLES (original) (raw)

Excessive clotting can cause bleeding over a vast capillary areas contributing to stroke, heart attack or blindness. We study the mesoscopic dynamics of clotting by using a discrete-particle model. We assume that the plasma consists of fluid particles containing fibrin monomers, while the red blood cells and capillary walls are modeled using elastic mesh of "solid" particles. The fluid particles interact with each other with a short -ranged, repulsive dissipative force. The particles containing fibrin monomers have a dual character. The polymerization of fibrin monomers into hydrated fibrins is modeled by the change of the interactions between fluid particles from repulsive to attractive forces. This process occurs with a probability being an increasing function of a local density. We study the blood flow in microscopic capillary vessels about 100μm long and with diameters on order of 10μm. We show that the model of polymerization reflects well the role of fibrins in the c...