INFLUENCE OF WALL ELASTICITY AND POISEUILLE FLOW ON PERISTALTIC INDUCED FLOW OF A PARTICLE-FLUID MIXTURE

The effect of Poiseuille flow on peristaltic transport of a particle-f luid mixture has been investigated in a two-dimensional mathematical m odel for the case where the walls of the channel execute sinusoidal mo tion of small amplitude. The driving mechanism of the muscle is repres ented by assuming the channel walls to be elastic or viscoelastic. The fluid-particle interaction problem is investigated by considering equ ations of motion for both the fluid and particle phases with the defor mable boundaries. The wall characteristics appear in their equations o f motion, which are solved to represent boundary conditions of the flu id motion. Solutions for free pumping case and interaction with Poiseu ille flow are obtained for small values of Poiseuille flow parameter i n closed form as well as by a series method. The effect of the particu late phase is observed throughout the analysis both qualitatively and quantitatively. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.