Numerical Analysis of Two-Dimensional Peristaltic Flows : 1st Report, Flow Pattern

The Navier-Stokes equations are solved numerically for two-dimensional peristaltic flows by using the finite-difference technique employing Up-wind S.O.R. method. Although many analyses of the peristaltic flow based upon the perturbation method have been widely developed, they have yielded the results only for a specific flow in which the magnitudes of wave amplitude, wavelength and Reynolds number are restricted. However, the present numerical method has no restriction in principle on these three quantities and permits us to obtain the solutions for a wider range of these quantities than them. Through the numerical calculations, an investigation is made on the influences of these three quantities on the flow pattern, compared with the theoretical results obtained by the perturbation method. And this paper intends to elucidate the characteristics of a peristaltic flow at moderately large Reynolds number where peristaltic pumping has a possibility of engineering application.