Computational Fluid Dynamic Modelling of a High Flux Crimped Membrane to Improve Hemodialyzer Efficiency

The number of patients suffering from kidney related issues are exponentially rising each year. According to health organizations, kidney patients are more in count than the diabetic patients which make it more alarming. Hemodialysis is the treatment for patients with failed kidney, till a normal kidney is at hand for transplant. A high flux crimped membrane is designed and simulated. In this paper, the structure of hemodialyzer hollow fiber membrane is modelled to understand its effectiveness in contaminant removal. Crimps are made in a straight high flux hollow fiber membrane and blood is passed through it while dialysate flows around the semi permeable membrane. An average crimp amplitude of 0.2mm and crimp count of 4 was taken. Average porosity of 0.2 was provided. Results show that, a crimped fiber of length 56 mm shows 97.2% clearance at a rate twice faster than that of a straight fiber of the same length.