Non-Newtonian effects in the peristaltic flow of a Maxwell fluid - art. no. 036303

We analyzed the effect of viscoelasticity on the dynamics of fluids in poro us media by studying the flow of a Maxwell fluid in a circular tube, in whi ch the flow is induced by a wave traveling on the tube wall. The present pa per investigates phenomena brought about into the classic peristaltic mecha nism by inclusion of non-Newtonian effects that are important, e.g., for hy drocarbons. This problem has numerous applications in various branches of s cience, including the stimulation of fluid flow in a porous media under the effect of elastic waves and studies of blood flow dynamics in living creat ures. We have found that in the extreme non-Newtonian regime, there is a po ssibility of a fluid flow in the direction opposite to the propagation of t he wave traveling on the tube wall.