Flow parameters associated with hydrodynamic cell injury.

Two flow parameters are proposed for the analysis of flows that have potential to damage animal cells. They are the state of stress (characterized by the second invariant of the stress tensor) and the flow classification parameter R(D) (which is related to the possibility of stress relaxation). We consider the flow that occurs when a 1.7-mm bubble collapses at a liquid interface. Using these two parameters, we show the regions in which the flow is strong in terms of high hydrodynamic stresses and elongation characteristics.