Peristaltic transport of a particle-fluid suspension in a cylindrical tube (Q1334710)

The flow of an incompressible Newtonian viscous fluid containing a suspension of small particles along a long circular cylindrical tube of uniform cross-section is considered. Peristaltic motion is modelled by assuming that the tube wall is subjected to a sinusoidal wave. By assuming that the wave amplitude is small compared with the tube radius, a perturbation method is developed to obtain a set of ordinary differential equations. For pumping of initially stationary fluid the equations simplify, and the solution is shown to depend on Bessel functions. The Bessel functions are represented by polynomials to obtain a solution. Numerical results are presented in graphical form for flow in the ureter. It is claimed that reverse flow may occur at the boundary in contrast to the two-dimensional case.