ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the dynamics associated with the single Red blood cells (RBC) in shear flow and its role in hemorheology. It provides the reader with basic elements about RBCs’ membrane mechanics before discussing their rich dynamics and their role in hemorheology. The chapter focuses on the dynamics of isolated RBCs and blood under pure shear flow. The RBCs are some of the most abundant cells in the body and all together they form a fluid organ responsible for the transport of oxygen to tissues and the removal of carbon dioxide from the tissues to the lungs. The chapter explores how an RBC behaves in pure shear flow, and in particular how the dynamics change as a function of two control parameters: the imposed shear rate and the viscosity of the suspending fluid. The ellipsoid is suspended in an infinite shear flow at zero Reynolds number.
