Review of flow rate estimates of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The unprecedented nature of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill required the application of research methods to estimate the rate at which oil was escaping from the well in the deep sea, its disposition after it entered the ocean, and total reservoir depletion. Here, we review what advances were made in scientific understanding of quantification of flow rates during deep sea oil well blowouts. We assess the degree to which a consensus was reached on the flow rate of the well by comparing in situ observations of the leaking well with a time-dependent flow rate model derived from pressure readings taken after the Macondo well was shut in for the well integrity test.

Flow pumping system for physiological waveforms.

A pulsatile flow pumping system is developed to replicate flow waveforms with reasonable accuracy for experiments simulating physiological blood flows at numerous points in the body. The system divides the task of flow waveform generation between two pumps: a gear pump generates the mean component and a piston pump generates the oscillatory component. The system is driven by two programmable servo controllers.

Targeted O2 delivery by blood substitutes: in vitro arteriolar simulations of first- and second-generation products.

The O(2) transport from mixtures of commercially produced hemoglobin-based O(2) carriers (HBOCs) and red blood cells (RBCs) flowing through arteriolar-sized (25-mum) conduits is simulated. A generalized treatment of extraluminal O(2) transport processes is used to reflect variations in physiological conditions, such as increased O(2) consumption. Of the HBOCs considered, polymerized bovine hemoglobin (PolyBvHb, p50=54 mmHg), tetrameric cross-linked human hemoglobin (alphaalphaHb, p50=33 mmHg), and PEGylated human hemoglobin (MP4, p50=5 mmHg), only MP4 does not increase O(2) extraction ratios when compared to RBC suspensions alone.

Vascular dynamics of a shape memory polymer foam aneurysm treatment technique.

The vascular dynamics of a shape memory polymer foam aneurysm treatment technique are assessed through the simulated treatment of a generic basilar aneurysm using coupled fluid dynamics and heat transfer calculations. The shape memory polymer foam, which expands to fill the aneurysm when heated, is modeled at three discrete stages of the treatment procedure. To estimate an upper bound for the maximum amount of thermal damage due to foam heating, a steady velocity is specified through the basilar artery, corresponding to a minimum physiological flow velocity over a cardiac cycle.

A quantitative framework for the design of acellular hemoglobins as blood substitutes: implications of dynamic flow conditions.

The delivery of oxygen to tissue by cell-free carriers eliminates intraluminal barriers associated with red blood cells. This is important in arterioles, since arteriolar tone controls capillary perfusion. We describe a mathematical model for O(2) transport by hemoglobin solutions and red blood cells flowing through arteriolar-sized tubes to optimize values of p50, Hill number, hemoglobin molecular diffusivity and concentration.