The femoral artery has radius

PHYSICS · Multi-part · Fermi University Physics · Biophysics & Medical Physics · Bioelectricity, the senses and the physics of the body · Bioelectricity, the senses and the physics of the body

Forces, Machines and Signals, Ch Bones, blood and body size

Problem

4.0\,\mathrm{mm}

. A resting heart rate of

75

beats per minute drives the pressure pulse at a fundamental frequency of

f = 1.25\,\mathrm{Hz}

. Blood has density

\rho = 1060\,\mathrm{kg\,m^{-3}}

and viscosity

\eta = 3.5\,\mathrm{mPa\,s}

. ((a)) Calculate the viscous penetration depth

\delta_{\rm visc} = \sqrt{\eta/\rho\omega}

for this frequency. ((b)) Calculate the Womersley number

\alpha = r/\delta_{\rm visc}

for the femoral artery. ((c)) State whether steady Poiseuille flow is a good approximation there.

Browse the problem library