Volume 42, Issue 9 pp. 1788-1796
Research Article

Organic Additives for the Enhancement of Laminar Flow in a Brain-Vessels-Like Microchannel Assembly

Fiona W. M. Ling

Fiona W. M. Ling

Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Centre of Excellence for Advanced Research in Fluid Flow (CARIFF), Lebuhraya Tun Razak, 26300 Gambang, Pahang, Malaysia

Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Faculty of Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering, Lebuhraya Tun Razak, 26300 Gambang, Pahang, Malaysia

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Somaye Heidarinik

Somaye Heidarinik

Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Centre of Excellence for Advanced Research in Fluid Flow (CARIFF), Lebuhraya Tun Razak, 26300 Gambang, Pahang, Malaysia

Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Faculty of Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering, Lebuhraya Tun Razak, 26300 Gambang, Pahang, Malaysia

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Hayder A. Abdulbari

Corresponding Author

Hayder A. Abdulbari

Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Centre of Excellence for Advanced Research in Fluid Flow (CARIFF), Lebuhraya Tun Razak, 26300 Gambang, Pahang, Malaysia

Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Faculty of Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering, Lebuhraya Tun Razak, 26300 Gambang, Pahang, Malaysia

Correspondence: Hayder A. Abdulbari ([email protected]), Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Centre of Excellence for Advanced Research in Fluid Flow (CARIFF), Lebuhraya Tun Razak, 26300 Gambang, Pahang, Malaysia.Search for more papers by this author
First published: 28 May 2019
Citations: 8

Abstract

Organic polymers were extracted from okra, aloe vera, and hibiscus leaves and used as drag-reducing additives (DRAs) to enhance the laminar flow in custom-made microchannels that simulate the human brain vessels. The experiment was conducted using an open-loop microfluidic system. The flow enhancement performance was evaluated as the function of percentage of flow increment of mucilage additives at different concentrations. Okra mucilage showed greater flow enhancement performance at higher mucilage concentration while both aloe vera and hibiscus mucilage performed better at lower additive concentration. The findings prove the potential of these organic polymers as DRAs to enhance the blood flow.

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