The drag and sphericity index for sickle cell models

Abstract

The Payne and Pell solution to the Stokes flow problem for axially symmetric bodies is reexamined and several corrections to the theory are presented. The corrected equations are then used to calculate the drag expected for spherical, lens and sickle shaped bodies and a correlation between the drag and the sphericity index is made. The geometric similarities between the shapes treated here and the shapes assumed by red cells during normal flow and that produced by chemical action is noted and the possibility of utilizing the Payne-Pell theory as a basis for a mathematical treatment of these shape changes is explored.