The Parallel-Plate Flow Chamber （PPFC）, of which the height is far smaller than its own length and width, is one of the main apparatus for the in-vitro study of the mechanical behavior of cultured vascular Endotheli...The Parallel-Plate Flow Chamber （PPFC）, of which the height is far smaller than its own length and width, is one of the main apparatus for the in-vitro study of the mechanical behavior of cultured vascular Endothelical Cells （ECs） exposed to fluid shear stress. The steady flow in different kinds of PPFC has been extensively investigated, whereas, the pulsatile flow in the PPFC has received little attention. In consideration of the characteristics of geometrical size and pulsatile flow in the PPFC, the 3-D pulsatile flow was decomposed into a 2-D pulsatile flow in the vertical plane, and an incompressible plane potential flow in the horizontal plane. A simple method was then proposed to analyze the pulsatile flow in the PPFC with spatial shear stress gradient. On the basis of the method, the pulsatile fluid shear stresses in several reported PPFCs with spatial shear stress gradients were calculated. The results were theoretically meaningful for applying the PPFCs in-vitro, to simulate the pulsatile fluid shear stress environment, to which cultured ECs were exposed.展开更多
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10472027, 30670511).
文摘The Parallel-Plate Flow Chamber （PPFC）, of which the height is far smaller than its own length and width, is one of the main apparatus for the in-vitro study of the mechanical behavior of cultured vascular Endothelical Cells （ECs） exposed to fluid shear stress. The steady flow in different kinds of PPFC has been extensively investigated, whereas, the pulsatile flow in the PPFC has received little attention. In consideration of the characteristics of geometrical size and pulsatile flow in the PPFC, the 3-D pulsatile flow was decomposed into a 2-D pulsatile flow in the vertical plane, and an incompressible plane potential flow in the horizontal plane. A simple method was then proposed to analyze the pulsatile flow in the PPFC with spatial shear stress gradient. On the basis of the method, the pulsatile fluid shear stresses in several reported PPFCs with spatial shear stress gradients were calculated. The results were theoretically meaningful for applying the PPFCs in-vitro, to simulate the pulsatile fluid shear stress environment, to which cultured ECs were exposed.
