A Computational Analysis for Active Flow and Pressure Control Using Moving Roller Peristalsis

Peristaltic motion arises in many physiological, medical, pharmaceutical and industrial processes. Control of the fluid volume rate and pressure is crucial for pumping applications, such as the infusion of intravenous liquid drugs, blood transportation, etc. In this study, a simulation of peristaltic flow is presented in which occlusion is imposed by pairs of circular rollers that squeeze a deformable channel connected to a reservoir with constant fluid pressure. Naturally, this kind of flow is laminar; hence, the computation occurred in this context. The effect of the number and speed of the pairs of rollers, as well as that of the intrapair roller gap, is investigated. Non-Newtonian fluids are considered, and the effect of the shear-thinning behavior degree is examined. The volumetric flow rate is found to increase with an increase in the number of rollers or in the relative occlusion. A reduction in the Bird–Carreau power index resulted in a small reduction in transport efficiency. The characteristic of the pumping was computed, i.e., the induced pressure as a function of the fluid volume rate. A strong positive correlation exists between relative occlusion and induced pressure. Shear-thinning behavior significantly decreases the developed pressure compared to Newtonian fluids. The immersed boundary method on curvilinear coordinates is adapted and validated for non-Newtonian fluids.