Viscous Force

The viscous force F in Eq. 16.21 is the fluid analog of the sliding friction force
between two solid surfaces.

From: International Edition University Physics, 1984

Related terms:

Diffusion, Boundary Layer, Fluid Velocity, Momentum Equation, Pressure Gradient,

property

View all Topics

Aircraft Aerodynamic Boundary Layers

Jean Cousteix, in Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology (Third Edition),
2003

V.A Boundary Layer Hypotheses

Viscous forces are negligible compared with inertial forces when the Reynolds
number is large. For the flow around an airfoil, this conclusion is nearly correct
except that it leads to important contradictions with physics. If viscous effects were
negligible everywhere in the flow, an airfoil at low speed would have no drag.
Common experience tells us that this result is wrong. A second drawback would be
that the continuity of velocity or temperature along the interface between a solid
and a fluid would be violated.

Prandtl introduced the idea that, in a laminar flow, viscosity should affect the flow
even if the Reynolds number is very large. The viscous effects are confined in a thin
layer near the wall—the boundary layer—where the viscous forces are of the same
order as the inertial forces. This hypothesis is not at variance with the meaning of
the Reynolds number. Simply, the significant Reynolds number for the boundary
layer is based on an appropriate length scale—its thickness—which is very small
compared with a characteristic length of the body. The boundary layer hypothesis
also requires the boundary layer thickness to be small compared to the wall curvature
radius.
According to the boundary layer hypothesis, the main viscous forces are parallel to
the wall and diffusion occurs essentially in a direction normal to the wall (Fig. 5).
Another important consequence of the boundary layer hypothesis is that the static
pressure variations across the boundary layer are negligible.

The boundary layer theory can also be applied to a turbulent flow. Below, the bound-
ary layer equations are written for a turbulent flow but, for the sake of simplicity, they
are given for a two-dimensional steady flow (the mean flow is two dimensional and
steady). The x-coordinate follows the contour of the body and the y-coordinate is
normal to it (Fig. 8). The compressible flow equations are

FIGURE 8. Boundary layer coordinate system.

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

These equations are completed by the state equation:

In the x-momentum Equation (9), the viscous stress is associated with an apparent
turbulent stress − (u v ). Equation (9) expresses that the acceleration represented by
the left-hand side is due to the pressure forces and to viscous and turbulent stresses
(Fig. 9). In the energy Equation (11) the heat flux is associated with an apparent
turbulent heat flux (v h ). The contribution of viscosity and thermal conductivity
is to diffuse momentum and energy in the y-direction. By extension, the effect
of turbulent terms is called turbulent diffusion. The above equations are written
assuming that the ensemble averages are identical to mass-weighted averages.
FIGURE 9. Streamwise forces in a boundary layer. The stress is the sum of a viscous
stress and an apparent turbulent stress − (u v ).

> Read full chapter

FLUID MECHANICS
George B. Arfken, ... Joseph Priest, in International Edition University Physics, 1984

16.6 Viscosity
By definition, a fluid cannot support a shearing stress (Sections 16.1). Nevertheless,
fluids do resist shearing motions. The property of a fluid that measures its resistance
to shearing motions is called viscosity.

Viscosity is the fluid analog of the shear modulus for an elastic solid (Sections 15.6).
Recall our discussion of the shear stress–strain relationship for a solid. We can think
of a solid as a set of adjacent layers. From our discussion of the shear stress–strain
relationship for a solid (Sections 15.2) you may recall that a shearing stress produces
a relative displacement of these layers (see Figure 16.17).
Figure 16.17. In a solid, a shearing stress results in the relative displacement of
adjacent layers of the solid. The strain, dx/dy ≈ , is a measure of the distortion
produced by the stress

Figure 16.18 shows the analogous situation for a fluid. A shearing stress (F/A) sets
the fluid in motion and produces relative motion of the fluid layers. The relative
displacement of adjacent layers increases indefinitely and is not an appropriate
quantity for describing shear effects in a fluid. Instead, we use the relative velocity
of adjacent fluid layers. The relative velocity of fluid layers can be inferred from the
velocity profile, a graph or equation that relates the fluid velocity to position. Figures
16.19a and 16.19b show the velocity profiles typical of flow in a pipe and of flow
in an open channel (a river, for example). If two layers separated by a distance dy
have velocities u and u + du, their relative velocity is du. The rate of strain is defined
as du/dy. The quantity du/dy is often referred to as the velocity gradient; it measures
how the flow velocity changes with position. Geometrically du/dy is the slope of the
velocity profile. In an elastic solid the ratio (shear stress/shear strain) is defined as
the shear modulus (Sections 15.2):

Figure 16.18. In a liquid, a shearing stress causes adjacent layers to be in relative

motion. The rate of strain, du/dy, is a measure of the distortion produced by the
stress
Figure 16.19a. Velocity profile for a pipe of radius R. The fluid velocity is zero at the
wall and rises to a maximum along the central axis.

Figure 16.19b. Velocity profile for an open channel of depth h. The flow velocity is
zero at the bottom of the channel and reaches a maximum at the surface. The slope
du/dy is the rate of strain of the fluid.

(15.26)

For small strains and

In fluids, the analog of the shear modulus for solids is the ratio of the shear stress to
the rate of strain. This ratio ( ) is termed the dynamic viscosity or simply the viscosity:

(16.21)

In Eq. 16.21, F/A is the shearing stress between fluid layers, which produces a rate
of strain du/dy. We can rewrite Eq. 16.21 to display the dynamic viscosity as the
proportionality factor relating shear stress and rate of strain

(16.22)
The SI unit of viscosity is the (N · s/m2). This unit suffers the indignity of having no
name. The cgs unit of viscosity is the dyne · s/cm2, and is called the poise:

The centipoise is on one-hundredth of a poise. We can verify that 1 dyne/cm2 = 0.1

N/m2, so that

The viscosities of liquids and gases typically differ by a factor of roughly 100. For
example, the viscosities of water and air at 20°C are 1.0 centipoise (cP) and 1.8 ×
10−2 centipoise, respectively. Table 16.1 contains a list of viscosities for several fluids
at 20°C. Keep in mind that in general the viscosity decreases as the temperature of
the fluid increases.

Table 16.1. Viscosities of selected fluids*

Fluid Dynamic Viscosity ( ) (N · Kinematic Viscosity (v) (m2/s)

s/m2)
Liquids
Benzene 6.6 × 10−4 7.5 × 10−7
Gasoline 2.9 × 10−4 4.3 × 10−7
Jet Fuel (JP-4) 8.7 × 10−4 1.1 × 10−6
Crude Oil 7.2 × 10−3 8.4 × 10−6
Water 1.0 × 10−3 1.0 × 10−6
Glycerin 1.5 1.2 × 10−3
Gases
Hydrogen 0.90 × 10−5 1.1 × 10−4
Helium 1.97 × 10−5 1.2 × 10−4
Methane 1.34 × 10−5 2.0 × 10−5
Air 1.81 × 10−5 1.5 × 10−5
Oxygen 2.01 × 10−5 1.5 × 10−5
Carbon Dioxide 1.47 × 10−5 0.80 × 10−5

* Values refer to a temperature of 20°C and a pressure of 1 atm. Adapted from

Elementary Fluid Mechanics by J. K. Vannard and R. L. Street, 5th ed., with
permission of the publisher, John Wiley & Sons, New York.

The viscous force F in Eq. 16.21 is the fluid analog of the sliding friction force
between two solid surfaces. For this reason, viscosity is often referred to as fluid
friction. Like other frictional forces, viscous forces oppose the relative motion of
adjacent fluid layers. Whereas solid frictional forces are approximately independent
of velocity, viscous forces increase with velocity, as shown in Example 8.

Example 8

Fluid Friction
A flat steel plate starts from rest and slides down an inclined plane under the
combined action of gravity and the viscous force exerted by a thin film of oil (Figure
16.20). What is the limiting speed of the plate, assuming that the rate of strain,
du/dy, is constant across the thickness of the film? The plane is inclined at 30° to the
horizontal. The plate weighs 0.5 N, and its contact area with the oil is 0.02 m2. The
viscosity of the oil is 0.05 N · s/m2, and the film thickness is 0.2 mm.

Figure 16.20. The metal plate slides down the incline, reaching a limiting speed

The oil in contact with the incline is at rest. The fluid speed increases across the film,
reaching a maximum, , at the surface in contact with the plate. The speed at which
the plate moves is the maximum fluid speed ( ). With a constant rate of strainwhere
h, the film thickness, is 2 mm. This viscous force is

Notice that the viscous force increases as the speed of the plate increases. The speed
of the plate increases until Fvis equals W sin 30°, the component of the weight acting
along the surface. When Fvis = W sin 30°, the net external force acting parallel to the
surface is zero and the plate then moves with a constant velocity. Takinggives

Inserting numerical values gives

The viscosity is often referred to as the absolute, or dynamic, viscosity to distinguish

it from a related quantity, the kinematic viscosity. The kinematic viscosity, , is defined
as the ratio of the dynamic viscosity and the mass density,

(16.23)

Both and measure the resistance to shearing motions. The kinematic viscosity is
introduced because in many applications it is the ratio / rather than alone that
determines the importance of viscous forces. The cgs unit of kinematic viscosity is
the stoke:

The kinematic viscosity / has many applications. We will encounter one such
application in the next section, where we study fluid turbulence.

Molecular Origin of Viscosity

The origin of the shearing force in a fluid is not immediately evident. Why should
there be a shearing force between two layers of fluid in relative motion? There are,
in fact, two sources of viscous forces. This fact is suggested by the observation that
the viscosity of a liquid decreases as temperature increases, whereas the viscosity
of a gas increases as its temperature rises. In liquids, viscosity originates with the
cohesive forces between molecules in adjacent layers. The viscous force results
because the attractive forces between molecules tend to prevent the relative motion
of molecules. In low-density gases cohesive forces make only a minor contribution
to the viscosity. The molecules are widely separated and exert very weak attractive
forces, and a different mechanism is responsible for viscosity. In a gas, molecules
constantly are being exchanged between adjacent layers. If molecules of mass m are
traded between layers where the flow speeds are u and u + du, there will be a net
transfer of momentum from the faster layer to the slower layer. The slower layer is
accelerated—it receives · an impulse of +m du when it catches a molecule from the
faster layer. The faster layer receives a negative impulse, -m du, in the trade. Overall,
the momentum transfers tend to reduce the relative velocity of the layers. At the
macroscopic level this momentum transfer is the viscous force that opposes relative
motion.

> Read full chapter

Narrow fingers in the Saffman-Taylor

instability
Y. Couder, ... M. Rabaud, in Dynamics of Curved Fronts, 1988

III CONCLUSIONS
For large velocities where viscous forces should dominate, surface tension remains
important in the determination of the shape of the fingers. Recent theories have
shown that this is due to its critical role in the localized region of the finger tip.
Conversely, we have shown that introducing a localized perturbation at the tip sup-
presses the width selection described in Refs. 9–11. Other solutions (those predicted
in theories neglecting surface tension) become possible. These are the parametrized
Saffman-Taylor solutions here and the parabolas in the circular geometry. The cur-
vature at the tip is determined by the velocity and selects the finger experimentally
observed. Both are affected at larger velocities by dendritic instabilities.

Dendrites have usually been associated with crystalline anisotropy. In the present
experiment as well as in the axisymmetric one, we show that a local perturbation
of the tip creates these characteristic patterns. Anisotropy of the medium is not
therefore a necessary condition to dendritic growth. It is only one of the means
by which the singularity of the tip can be removed so that fingers with parabolic
extremities are made possible.

Note added in proof. Recent experiments in cells of various thicknesses (b = 0.05, 0.1,
and 0.2 cm) show that the relevant parameter for the cruves (V) of Fig. 2 is the ratio
of the width over the thickness of the cell w/b. The nondimensional version of Fig.
3 is then a plot of Kb vs C and in Fig. 4 the abscissa can be scaled adimensionally in
w/b.

> Read full chapter

Electrokinetics in Microfluidics
In Interface Science and Technology, 2004

4-3.4 Effect of hydraulic diameter

Variation of Dh affects the following nondimensional parameters: the electrokinetic
diameter, and the strength of the viscous forces in the ratio of electrical to viscous
forces. The volumetric flow rate increased with approximately Dh2 as seen in Figure
4.7a. This is expected, since the cross-sectional area of the channel also increases
proportionate to Dh2. When larger pumping flow rates are desired, larger diameter
channels would seem to be a better choice. However, there is no corresponding
increase in the average velocity with increased hydraulic diameter.
Figure 4.7a. (a) Variation of volumetric flow rate with hydraulic diameter for three
different combinations of concentration and zeta potential, with H/W= 2/3, and Ex =
1 kV/cm.

In addition, for closed systems, gains made by larger diameter channels may be
offset by increases in the back-pressure. Changing the size of the channel affects
both the EDL and the velocity profile, and the effects can be seen in Figures 4.7b
and 4.7c. Note that in Figure 4.7c, only a very small fraction of the velocity profiles
near the channel wall is shown, in order to see the differences clearly.

Figure 4.7b. (b) Non-dimensional electric double layer potential profile and (c)
non-dimensional velocity profile along the width of a microchannel at y/H = 0 for two
different channel sizes. In these figures, with * = 8, H/W=2/3 and Ex = 1 kV/cm. z/W=
1.0 represents the channel wall, and z/W=0 represents the center of the channel.
> Read full chapter

Brownian Motion and Stationary

Processes
Sheldon M. Ross, in Introduction to Probability Models (Tenth Edition), 2010

Example 10.4
Consider a particle of unit mass that is suspended in a liquid and suppose that, due
to the liquid, there is a viscous force that retards the velocity of the particle at a
rate proportional to its present velocity. In addition, let us suppose that the velocity
instantaneously changes according to a constant multiple of white noise. That is, if
V(t) denotes the particle's velocity at t, suppose that

where {X(t), t ≥ 0} is standard Brownian motion. This can be written as follows:

or

Hence, upon integration, we obtain

or

Hence, from Equation (10.16),

> Read full chapter

STEADY MICROSCOPIC BALANCES

WITH GENERATION
Ismail Tosun, in Modeling in Transport Phenomena (Second Edition), 2007

9.1.5 Physical Significance of the Reynolds Number

The physical significance attributed to the Reynolds number for both laminar and
turbulent flows is that it is the ratio of the inertial forces to the viscous forces.
However, examination of the governing equations for fully developed laminar flow:
(i) between parallel plates, Eq. (9.1-19), (ii) in a circular pipe, Eq. (9.1-76), and (iii)
in a concentric annulus, Eq. (9.1-92), indicates that the only forces present are the
pressure and the viscous forces. Inertial forces do not exist in these problems. Since
both pressure and viscous forces are kept in the governing equation for velocity,
they must, more or less, have the same order of magnitude. Therefore, the ratio
of pressure to viscous forces, which is a dimensionless number, has an order of
magnitude of unity.

On the other hand, the use of the term instead of pressure is not appropriate since
this term comes from the Bernoulli equation, which is developed for no-friction (or
reversible) flows.

Therefore, in the case of a fully developed laminar flow, attributing a physical

significance of “inertial force/viscous force” to the Reynolds number is not correct.
A more appropriate approach may be given in terms of the time scales discussed
in Section 3.4.1. For the flow of a liquid through a circular pipe of length L with an
average velocity of, z , the convective time scale for momentum transport is the
mean residence time, i.e.,

(9.1-119)

On the other hand, the viscous time scale is given by

(9.1-120)

Therefore, the Reynolds number is given by

(9.1-121)

For a more thorough discussion on the subject, see Bejan (1984).

> Read full chapter

Heat Transfer
George Alanson Greene, in Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology (Third
Edition), 2003

II.B Fluid Mechanics and the Reynolds Number

Steady flow in a channel (internal flow) and external flow over a boundary are
governed by a balance of forces in the fluid in which inertial forces and pressure
forces are balanced by viscous forces on the fluid. This leads to the familiar concept
of a constant pressure drop in a water pipe which provides the force to overcome
friction along the pipe walls and thus provides the desired flow rate of water out the
other end. For Newtonian fluids, viscous or shear forces in the fluid are described
by a relationship between the stress (force/unit area) between the fluid layers which
results in a shear of the velocity field in the fluid as follows,  = μ · ∂u/∂y, where
is the shear stress in the fluid, ∂u/∂y is the rate of strain of the fluid, and μ,
the constant of proportionality, is a fluid transport property known as the dynamic
viscosity. This is the Newtonian stress–strain relationship and it forms the basis for
the fundamental equations of fluid mechanics. The force balance in the direction of
flow which provides for a state of equilibrium on a fluid element in the flow can be
written as a balance of differential pressure forces normal to the fluid element by
tangential shear forces on the fluid element as shown in the following:

Substituting the Newtonian stress–strain relationship into this force balance, we

find that

7a

and in dimensionless form, this becomes

7b

where the quantity ( UL/μ) is called the Reynolds number of the flow, and it
represents the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces in the fluid. The Reynolds
number, sometimes written as Re = UL/ , where is the kinematic viscosity,  = μ/ ,
is the similarity parameter of fluid mechanics which provides the convenience of
similarity solutions to general classes of fluid mechanics problems (i.e., pressure
drop in laminar or turbulent pipe flow can be scaled by the Reynolds number,
regardless of the velocity, diameter, or viscosity) and is the parameter which predicts
when laminar conditions transition to turbulence. The Reynolds number plays a
fundamental role in predicting convection and convective heat transfer.

> Read full chapter

Theory of Colloid and Interfacial Elec-

tric Phenomena
In Interface Science and Technology, 2006

1. Introduction
When an external field (e.g., electric and gravitational fields) is applied to a sus-
pension of charged colloidal particles in a liquid, the external field accelerates the
particles and at the same time a viscous force exerted by the liquid on the particles
tends to retard the particles. In the stationary state, these two forces are balanced
with each other so that the particles move with a constant velocity in the liquid.
These phenomena are called electrokinetic phenomena, which depend strongly on
the electrical diffuse double layer formed around the charged particles and the
zeta-potential [1–9]. The zeta-potential is defined as the potential at the plane
where the liquid velocity relative to the particle is zero. This plane is called the
slipping plane or the shear plane. The slipping plane does not necessarily coincide
with the particle surface. Only if the slipping plane is located at the particle surface,
the zeta potential becomes equal to the surface potential o. In this chapter
we treat the case where = o and where particles are symmetrical (spherical or
cylindrical). The movement of colloidal particles in an external electric field, in
particular, called electrophoresis. Usually, we treat the case where the magnitude
of the applied electric field E is not very large. In such cases the velocity U of the
particles, which is called electrophoretic velocity, is proportional to E in magnitude.
The ratio of the magnitude of the valocity U to that of the applied field E is called
electrophoretic mobility µ, which is defined by µ = U/E (where U = |U| and E=|E|).
That is, the electrophoretic mobility is the electrophoretic velocity per unit applied
electric field. In this chapter we derive equations relating the electrophoretic mobility
to the zeta potential of rigid colloidal particles in a liquid containing an electrolyte
under an applied electric field. In this chapter we ignore the effect of the ionic
surface conduction behind the slipping plane, i.e., the effect of the stagnant layer
conduction, or, anomalous surface conduction [5].

> Read full chapter

Micromechanical Devices
Iwao Fujimasa, in Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology (Third Edition),
2003

II Micromechanism Design Principles

When a part's volume is defined as less than 1 mm3, the fundamental design
principles of micromechanisms might be obtained from the structures of living
organisms. One key problem is that relative driving forces to frictional and viscous
forces are inversely proportional to the device size.

When we observe an insect under a scanning electron microscope, we see a good

example of a mechatronic machine. We are amazed at its fine structure but may think
it impossible to imitate. We should analyze the function of the structure if we wish to
develop micromechanisms. Because the size of many silicon processed mechanical
parts already is less than 100 μm and is comparable with the organs of insects, we
should understand how skillfully insects overcome their troubles with miniaturized
parts. Fortunately, recent advances in molecular biology have gradually clarified for
us the molecular basis of the bioactuator mechanism.

Micromechanical devices have many advantages when we handle small objects. The
actions involved in micromechanical systems seem to be fast, partly because the
distances involved in the actions are short. Vibration and thermal expansion noise
are smaller. Microsystems consume less space, less energy, and less material. The
forces produced by micromechanisms are quite compatible with fragile and soft
components. Because the volume of a micromechanism is negligible, the material
costs are reduced proportionally to the volume, and exotic materials can be used.

If we observe a living body as a machine, it can be said to be composed of many

micromechanical parts. Artificial organs developed so far have been larger than those
of natural organs. The difference in part sizes between natural and artificial organs
in the main reason. The size of ordinary tissues or cells is usually less than 1 mm.
Organella, the parts of cells, are mostly less than 1 μm. Human beings have not
yet developed these kinds of moving functional microparts, except for integrated
circuits or special miniaturized parts for wristwatches. Nor does there exist a mobile
machine less than 1 mm in size, similar in size to the phagocytes in our bodies.

There are many reasons why we cannot develop such micromechanisms. First,
present fabrication technology limits the size. Second, the scale effect on many
physical powers, such as viscosity and surface tension, which are caused by the
micronization of an actuator, restrict the design concepts to be used in micro-
mechanisms (Fig. 2). This is the main reason why mechanical engineers have not
developed micromechanisms. As shown in Fig. 3, the Reynolds number is less than
1 when the diameter of the vessel is less than 1 mm. In such a fluid flow, the
power of the actuator dissipates mainly by viscous resistance. Many micromobile
machines cannot swim in an ordinary way, and only a rotor-shaped corkscrew can
be force-driven in such a fluid media. Surface tension also dominates the activity of a
micromachine operating in a fluid. In a blood coagulation mechanism, for example,
the surfactant factor is a major influence in the blood flow. In a living body, as shown
in Fig. 3, the size of typical traveling organisms, such as protozoa, phagocytes, and
white blood cells, is from 10 to 100 μm. The diameter of a human red blood cell
is only 7 μm, and the size of viruses and some bacteria is less than 1 μm. The
diameter of vessels is also narrower than 1 mm. Living organisms usually swim
in highly viscous fluid. Actuators in a cell, such as flagella motors, microtubules,
and sarcomeres, are driven by unknown molecular energy conversion systems. The
driving mechanisms of such actuators obey completely different principles from
those of micromachines.
FIGURE 2. Relation between sizes (length) of mobile machines and Reynolds num-
bers of their fluidic environments. [Adapted from T. Hayashi, 1988.]

FIGURE 3. Hydrodynamical environment of self-mobile cells in vessels. Because the

size of cells and the inner diameters of vessels are less than 1 mm, the Reynolds
numbers do not exceed 1. Viscosity is the most dominant factor of power loss in
microvessels. The line in the figure is an extension of that in Fig. 2.

For driving microactuators, a number of forces advantageously regulate the mi-

crodomain, as for example, shape memory effects (SMEs), hydraulics, pneumatics,
and biological forces, in proportion to the dimension to the second power (the area).
These forces become stronger relative to inertial forces that scale to the dimension
to the third power (the volume). Today, several microelectromechanical actuators
utilize electrostatic forces (E). Under a constant E field, the field scales to the second
power. The electrostatic forces have an advantageous scaling in the microdomain.
SME appears in some special alloys, ceramics, and high polymers, which show
crystallographically reversible martensitic transformations. The driving forces of the
shape memory alloy (SMA) are caused by the atomic lattice structure change and
scale to the dimension to the first or second power. Analyzing the power–weight
ratio of actuators, those of DC motors and air turbines are not more than 1 mW/g
(Fig. 4). K. Ikuta of Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kita-kyushu, Japan, reported the
ratio of the SMA actuator may be raised not less than 10 mW/g in the microdomain
(the hatched area in Fig. 4). These forces produced by the micro-Stirling engine, one
type of the thermal engine, has an advantageous scaling. This forces scale to the
dimension to the third but the power–weight ratio of this engine may be raised from
10 to 100 times by increasing the gas pressure and the heating wall temperature
without any increase in engine weight. This ratio covers the dotted area in Fig. 4.

FIGURE 4. Power–weight ratio of a micro-Stirling engine, shape memory alloy

actuators, and other actuators. • DC motor with reduction gear; air motor; shape
memory alloy actuators. [Adapted from K. Ikuta, 1988.]

> Read full chapter

Automated transportation of micropar-

ticles in vivo
Xiaojian Li, Dong Sun, in Control Systems Design of Bio-Robotics and Bio-mecha-
tronics with Advanced Applications, 2020
1.1 In vivo environment
The blood vessels are a part of the circulatory system that transports blood through-
out the body. Blood delivers necessary substances, such as nutrients and oxygen,
to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from the same cells. As
an important system of the body, the blood vessels have been extensively studied
(Cohen and Taylor, 2002; Pries et al., 2000; Davies et al., 1997). Therefore, the
internal environment of blood vessels has been studied in this chapter as the main
environment for cell transport in vivo.

In this chapter, zebrafish was selected as experimental model to conduct cell trans-
port experiments in its blood vessels. Zebrafish is an important vertebrate model
organism in scientific research. Zebrafish has become a popular model system
because its embryos and larvae are small, transparent, and undergo rapid devel-
opment ex utero, allowing in vivo analysis of embryogenesis and organogenesis.
In cardiovascular research, zebrafish is used to model blood clotting, blood vessel
development, heart failure, and congenital heart and kidney diseases (Drummond,
2005). Zebrafish also represents a common cancer model system used in cancer
research (Evensen et al., 2016; Teng et al., 2013; Stoletov and Klemke, 2008). Fig. 1
shows a 30-hour-postfertilization (hpf ) zebrafish.

Fig. 1. The image of 30-hpf zebrafish.

To control RBCs in the blood vessels, the mechanical properties of these cells must
be study first. When blood flows in microcirculation, several features are observed:
low Womersley number, low Reynolds number (Re), pulsating fluid, and interaction
between RBCs and blood vessels. These features differentiate in vivo and in vitro cell
manipulation.

Low Re is similar to that in in vitro manipulation. Re is a dimensionless quantity used

to predict similar flow patterns in different fluid flow situations. This parameter is
defined as the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces and quantifies the relative
importance of the two types of forces for given flow conditions. Re is defined as

(1)
where D is the hydraulic diameter of the pipe, vf is the mean velocity of the fluid (SI
units: m/s), μ is the dynamic viscosity of the fluid [Pa s or N s/m2 or kg/(m s)], is the
density of the fluid (kg/m3), and is the kinematic viscosity (  = μ/ ) (m2/s). The Re
of microcirculation systems is very low. For example, the Re in dogs are as follows:

Arterioles Re = 0.09,
Capillaries Re = 0.001,
Venules Re = 0.035.

When  Re   1, the viscous forces are larger than the inertial forces. The relationship
between force and speed of motion is provided by Stokes’ law (Dusenbery, 2009).

Stokes’ law is illustrated as follows:

(2)

where Fd is the frictional force, also known as Stokes’ drag, which acts on the interface
between the fluid and the particle (N); R is the radius of the spherical object (m); and
vp is the velocity of the particle (m/s).

Womersley number ( ) is a dimensionless number in biofluid mechanics and ex-

presses pulsatile flow frequency in relation to viscous effects. This parameter is
defined as (Womersley, 1955):

(3)

where rv is the radius of the blood vessels, and is the angular frequency of the
oscillations. When is less than 1 and the frequency of pulsations is sufficiently low,
the velocity distribution along the radial direction of the blood vessel is parabolic.
The blood flow velocity near the blood vessel wall is slow, and the blood flow velocity
in the central region is fast. In addition, the flow will be very near in phase with the
pressure gradient.

A list of estimated Womersley numbers in different human blood vessels is shown

in Table 1.

Table 1. Womersley numbers in different human blood vessels.

Vessel Aorta Artery Arteriole Capillary Venule Veins Vena cava

Diameter 0.025 0.004 3 × 10− 5 8 × 10− 6 2 × 10− 5 0.005 0.03
(m)
13.83 2.21 0.0166 4.43 × 10- 0.011 2.77 16.6
− 3
 When    1, the heartbeat-induced oscillations and the local inertial force can be
negligible. Therefore, the velocity and pressure of blood can be regarded as constant
in microcirculation systems for a period of time.

Because of the low Womersley number and Re, the force balance equation of RBCs
can be written as follows:

(4)

Substituting Eq. (2) into Eq. (4) provides

(5)

where Δ p is the average pressure difference across the RBC, and S is the sectional
area of the RBC.

The pressure difference Δ p is usually zero in vitro and can be negligible. However,
Δ p plays an important role in promoting blood flow. Although this parameter is
constant within a short period of time, the pressure significantly changes under
prolonged period. Pressure difference is affected by many factors, such as positional
relationship between RBCs and blood pressure changes. Therefore, Δ p must be
considered when cells are controlled in vivo.

When the cells flow freely with blood, the force of the OTs Ft = 0. According to Eq.
(5), the following equation can be obtained:

(6)

where vl is the blood flow velocity. Substituting Eqs. (2), (6) into Eq. (4), the dynamic
equation can be written as follows:

(7)

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