An introductory course on biological flows across a broad range of scales from flagellar motility to the beating heart. Topics range from the dynamics of classical biomedical flows such as the circulatory and respiratory systems. (e.g. wall compliance, pulsatility, and transition to turbulence) through to cellular-level motility and biopropulsion in general over a range of Reynolds numbers. Topics relating to comparative biology (e.g. allometry and evolutionary convergence) and common imaging techniques used for biological flows (e.g. acoustic, nuclear magnetic resonance, optical and x-ray techniques) will be covered as well. Students are expected to have sufficient experience with measurement science and fluid dynamics theory equivalent to MECH 217 and MECH 241. Those who have not taken such courses will need to prepare through self-study.
(Lec: 3, Lab: 0, Tut: 0.5)