Effects of the Non-Newtonian Viscosity of Milk Flow in the Breast Ductal System

Numerical simulation of human milk flow inside the breast ductal system is carried out to investigate the impact of milk flow properties, specifically viscosity, on the flow regime. The geometry of the ductal system is assumed as a rigid body with six bifurcation levels. The vacuum pressure, obtained from clinical investigations, is applied as boundary conditions for numerical analysis. The simulations are performed by considering both Newtonian and Non-Newtonian milk flow properties. The streamlines of velocity fluid, wall shear stress, and milk flow expression for these two models are discussed. The results show that the non-Newtonian fluid has a higher magnitude of velocity compared to the Newtonian fluid, which leads to a greater amount of milk expression.