Course # BME 476
Course Title: Biofluid Mechanics
Terms Offered: 1
Prerequisites: ME 320 or equivalent, or consent of instructor
Cognizant Faculty: James B. Grotberg
Textbook/Required Material: Class Notes
Date of Preparation: January 25, 2001
Instructor(s): James B. Grotberg
Email:  grotberg@umich.edu
Science/Design 3/0

Catalog Description:
This is an intermediate level fluid mechanics course which uses examples from biotechnology processes and physiologic applications including the cardiovascular, respiratory, ocular, renal, musculo-skeletal and gastrointestinal systems.

Course Topics:
1. Dimensional analysis (gastrointestinal and renal applications)
2. Approximation methods including regular and singular perturbations (biotechnology examples)
3. Particle kinematics in Eularian and Lagrangian reference frames (biotechnology examples)
4. Conservation of mass and momentum
5. Constitutive equations and Newtonian/non-Newtonian biofluid models (blood and mucus examples)
6. Kinematic and stress boundary conditions: rigid, flexible, porous (cardio-pulmonary examples)
7. Surface tension phenomena including Marangoni flows (pulmonary and ocular applications)
8. Flow and wave propagation in flexible tubes (cardio-pulmonary applications)
9. Oscillatory and pulsatile flows (cardio-pulmonary examples)
10. High Reynolds number flows and boundary layers (cardio-pulmonary applications)
11. Low Reynolds number flows (biotechnology examples)
12. Lubrication theory (hemodynamics of red blood cells, synovial fluid in joints)
13. Flow in porous media (ocular examples)
14. Video presentations of laboratory experiments covering: Flow Visualization, Deformation of Continuous Media, Rheological Behavior of Fluids, Pressure Fields & Fluid Acceleration, Surface Tension in Fluid Mechanics, Secondary Flow, Fundamentals of Boundary Layers


Course Objectives:
To teach students fundamental fluid mechanics (conservation laws and boundary conditions) at the
intermediate level.
To teach students the unique features of biological flows, especially constitutive laws and boundaries
To teach students the application of fluid mechanics to physiology and biotechnology
To teach students approximation methods in fluid mechanics and their constraints
To teach students how to model fluid mechanical systems in biology
To teach student how to reduce data from experiments in biological flows

Course Outcomes:
Obtain knowledge of fluid dynamical phenomena in biological systems
Enhance understanding of biotechnology-related flows
Learn the relationship between fluid dynamics and normal/abnormal physiology
Develop the ability to scale and approximate fluid dynamical equations
Learn techniques of perturbation methods and their application to biological flows
Gain experience with free-boundary problems and their biological examples
Understand boundary layer theory and its application to biological flows
Learn to model the non-Newtonian behavior of biofluids


Assessment Tools:
Homework
Exams
Classroom Participation