Incompressible Navier-Stokes Computations for the Development of a Ventricular Assist Device

An incompressible flow analysis code, INS3D, has been applied to the development of a mechanical heart assist device. The solution method is based on the artificial compressibility approach and uses an implicit-upwind differencing scheme together with a Gauss-Seidel line relaxation method. The equations are solved in steadily rotating reference frames and the centrifugal and the Coriolis force terms are included as source terms. The resulting computational procedure is validated for liquid rocket engine analysis and applied subsequently to analyze a Ventricular Assist Device (VAD). A new design configuration is developed which includes an inducer upstream of the impeller main blades, and substantial improvement is observed in the performance of the VAD.