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Optimization of a blood pump with a levitating impeller
A blood pump with a levitating impeller is used as a prototype to optimize the hydraulic efficiency by exploring potential improvements of the impeller and housing design.
The blood pump under investigation is used either as a short-term heart assist device or to pump blood for artificial oxygenation. The pump has a rotating impeller that is levitated by an active magnetic bearing system inside an enclosed housing. Low blood trauma and good hydraulic performance are required. In this project the pump is used as a prototype to optimize the hydraulic efficiency by exploring potential improvements of the impeller and housing design. The results should pave the way for the development of more energy efficient and smaller drive units.
The blood pump under investigation is used either as a short-term heart assist device or to pump blood for artificial oxygenation. The pump has a rotating impeller that is levitated by an active magnetic bearing system inside an enclosed housing. Low blood trauma and good hydraulic performance are required. In this project the pump is used as a prototype to optimize the hydraulic efficiency by exploring potential improvements of the impeller and housing design. The results should pave the way for the development of more energy efficient and smaller drive units.
1) Define requirements together with pump manufacturer Thoratec
2) Literature research on pump design and 3D printing
3) Iteratively design and manufacture impeller and housing using 3D printing
4) Evaluate hydraulic characteristics of different impellers on testbench
Optional, dependent on interest and expertise:
- Computation Fluid Dynamics simulations of flow field of developed impeller designs
- Experiments with animal blood for blood trauma evaluation of developed impeller designs
1) Define requirements together with pump manufacturer Thoratec
2) Literature research on pump design and 3D printing
3) Iteratively design and manufacture impeller and housing using 3D printing
4) Evaluate hydraulic characteristics of different impellers on testbench
Optional, dependent on interest and expertise:
- Computation Fluid Dynamics simulations of flow field of developed impeller designs
- Experiments with animal blood for blood trauma evaluation of developed impeller designs
- Interest in biomedical engineering - Skills with designing in CAD - Prior knowledge on pump theory / turbomachinery design (not obligatory) - Passion about creating and testing physical prototypes - Ability to acquaint oneself independently with new topics and theories
Your tasks can be adapted depending on your interest and expertise.
The chair of Product Development and Engineering Design at the ETH Zurich considers itself a cen-ter for system-oriented product development and innovation. Our aspiration consists on the one hand of the advancement and investiga- tion of methods and processes of product development and on the other hand of the development of new technical systems. The pur- pose of our daily work is to cont- ribute to the innovative ability and competitiveness of Switzerland.
The chair of Product Development and Engineering Design at the ETH Zurich considers itself a cen-ter for system-oriented product development and innovation. Our aspiration consists on the one hand of the advancement and investiga- tion of methods and processes of product development and on the other hand of the development of new technical systems. The pur- pose of our daily work is to cont- ribute to the innovative ability and competitiveness of Switzerland.
- Design optimization for impeller and housing of rotary blood pumps - Design in CAD, 3D printing of prototypes, evaluation on testbench - Active integration into the project team
pd|z - www.pdz.ethz.ch
Kai v. Petersdorff-Campen CLA G 19.2
Tannenstrasse 3, 8092 Zurich kaiv@ethz.ch
pd|z - www.pdz.ethz.ch Kai v. Petersdorff-Campen CLA G 19.2 Tannenstrasse 3, 8092 Zurich kaiv@ethz.ch