EFFECT OF DISTRIBUTION TABS ON MASS TRANSFER AT THE DIALYSATE INLET AND OUTLET OF ARTIFICIAL KIDNEY

In this paper, the effect of the distribution tabs atthe dialysate inlet and outlet is investigatedqualitatively by means of 3-D flow field numerical simulation. The tabs are designed to be made of porous material. Then the variationof the artificial kidney's clearance is studied with the porous tabs'Darcy permeability K decreasing from +∞ to 0. The results showthat the clearance first increases slightly, then sharply,when arriving at a maximum, the clearance falls sharply and thendecreases steadily. By this method we may find the optimal Darcy permeability ofthe porous tabs, corresponding to which the maximal clearanceis about 4.5% higher than the current artificial kidney's clearanceunder the same conditions. The results are significant to improve the design of artificial kidney.