FLUIDDYNAMICS

RESEARCH
ELSEVIER Fluid Dynamics Research 19 (1997) 115-123

Long-wave peristaltic transport of a compressible viscous fluid

in a finite pipe subject to a time-dependent pressure drop
Leonid K. Antanovskii a'*, Harold R a m k i s s o o n b
aMoldflow International Pty Ltd, 259-261 Colchester Road, Kilsyth, Victoria 3137, Australia
b Department o f Mathematics & Computer Science, University o f the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad, WI, USA
Received 18 December 1995; revised 15 July 1996; accepted 17 July 1996

Abstract

Axisymmetric viscous flow in a long pipe, driven by the pulsating pressure gradient and the wall deformation, is
investigated. This kind of a flow is relevant to the peristaltic transport of blood due to the heart pumping along with the
synchronic expansion/constriction of the vessel. Following the spirit of the lubrication theory, a reduced system of
equations is derived. An obtained explicit solution demonstrates crucial role of peristalsis on the total fluid flux through
the pipe. In order to account for the inertia effect, a model based on an averaging of the momentum equation using an
a priori parabolic flow pattern across the pipe, is also derived.

1. Introduction

Peristaltic transport is the primary phsiological mechanism to propel either liquid or solid
substances in the living body. In the last two decades many investigations on peristaltic flow of
Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids have been carried out in Rath (1980), Provost and Schwartz
(1994), Pozrikidis (1987), Takabatake et al. (1988), Brasseur et al. (1987), B6hme and Friedrich
(1983), Shapiro et al. (1969), Brown and Hung (1977), Chow (1970), Fung and Yih (1968), Shukla
and Gupta (1982), and Jaffrin and Shapiro (1971). In particular, asymptotic analyses of the
peristaltic transport with respect to a small parameter, such as the radius-to-wavelength ratio
(slenderness), were implemented by Shapiro et al. (1969) and Jaffrin and Shapiro (1971) at low
Reynolds number, using the approach of the lubrication theory.
However, to the authors' best knowledge, there is no study of peristaltic flow through a deform-
able pipe, subject to the pulsating variation of pressure at the pipe ends. This situation is typical for
the flow in a blood vessel due to the heart pumping, and has application in medical sciences. In fact,

*Corresponding author.

0169-5983 / 97 / $17.00 © 1997 The Japan Society of Fluid Mechanics and

Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
PII S0 1 6 9 - 5 9 8 3 ( 9 6 ) 0 0 0 3 0 - 5
116 L.K. Antanovskii, H. Ramkissoon ] Fluid Dynamics Research 19 (1997) 115-123

this work has been motivated by a claim (Fung and Yih, 1968; Awon, 1995) that the arteries exhibit
peristalsis.
In this paper the lubrication theory approach is applied to a viscous flow in a finite pipe, subject
to time-dependent pressure drop and deformation of the pipe walls. Unlike Shapiro et al. (1969), the
shape evolution of the pipe can be arbitrary except that the characteristic wavelength is assumed to
be essentially greater than the average radius of the pipe cross-section.

2. Governing equations

Consider a pipe given by

D(t) = {0 ~< r < a(x, t), 0 ~< x ~< L},
with deformable walls
S(O = {r = a(x, t), O <. x < L },
where t is time, and x and r are the axial and radial coordinates. It is assumed that the mean radius
R of the pipe is significantly less than L. In other words, the dimensionless parameter e = R/L, the
slenderness of the pipe, is small.
Let us confine ourselves to the case of axisymmetric flow, neglecting the effect of gravity. In
particular, the axial and radial components of velocity, denoted by v:, and v~, respectively, and
pressure by p, will depend on x, r and t only. The pipe wall is assumed to be impermeable which
requires the equation
Oa(x, t) Oa(x, t)
O----T--+ v~(x, a(x, t), t) O ~ - v,(x, a(x, t), t).

Let the liquid be a viscous fluid of dynamic viscosity p and density p, which can be variable in the
general case. The continuity and the Navier-Stokes equations in the region D(t) take the form

?(pr) + _O(prvx)
_ + O(prv~)
__ _ O, (1)
0t 0x Or

(Ovx OVx Ovx'~ Op O( OVx\ 10 E (0vr 0vx']q

P\ ot +V~x+V'-~rJ=-~+~[2~-x)+r~ ur\ox+ OrJJ' (2)

P \ O t + V x ~ x + V " Or] - - 0 - - ~ + ~ x x k P ~ x + r~ 2#r O r ) - 2 1 ~ , (3)

with the boundary conditions on S(t),

Oa(x, t) Oa(x, t)
Vx = W(X, t), v, - O ~ + w(x' t) Ox ' (4)

where w(x, t) is the given axial component of velocity of the pipe wall.
 L.K. Antanovskii, H. Ramkissoon / Fluid Dynamics Research 19 (1997) 1 1 5 - 1 2 3 117

Note that Eqs. (1)-(3) at constant density and viscosity reduce to

O(rv=) O(rv.) 1 0 ,
--+ (la)
0x 0r

(o x o%_ er (2a)
P \ 0t + vx -~x + v~ Or ) - - 0--x +/zAvx,

(av~ Ov~ Ov~'~

P\0t +vx~-x+vr-~-r)-
8p ( v,)
~rrq-/z Avr
-~
, (3a)

where

A = ~-7x2 + - r ~ r r ~rr

is the Laplace operator.

In the following, the flow of a barotropic fluid will be considered. This means that density is
a function of pressure only. The latter is true for isothermal flow of a viscous fluid. Moreover, let us
assume that viscosity is a function of density, or equivalently, a function of pressure.

3. Conservation laws in a slice

In order to derive the mass and momentum balance laws applied to a slice of the pipe, let us
multiply Eq. (1) by 2~ and integrate it with respect to r, using Eqs. (4) and bearing in mind the
regularity conditions of the solution at the axis of symmetry. As a result, the mass conservation law
is obtained in the form

0A 0Q
O--7 + ~ = 0, (5)

where
(x,t)
A(x, t) = 2rt
fS p(x, r, t)r dr,

(x,t)
Q(x, t) = 2rt
f~ p(x, r, t)Vx(X, r, t)r dr.

Analogous but more cumbersome calculations give the momentum conservation law

aO ou
~t +-&x =F' (6)
118 L.K. AntanovskiL H. Ramkissoon / Fluid Dynamics Research 19 (1997) 115-123

where

U(x, t) = 2~ ;?"[ p(x, r, t)v2(x, r, t) + p(x, r, t) - 2#(x, r, t) cgv~(x,

Ox r, t) ] r dr,

F(x' t) = 2rca(x' t) L ax P - 2 / ~ T x ) r = , ¢ ~ , , + # \ - & - r + ax /~=o~,o "

The physical meaning of each term of these integral identities is obvious. In particular, A is the
mass per unit length of the pipe and Q is the total flux of the fluid flowing through the pipe
cross-section.
These conservation laws (5) and (6) are precisely valid in a slice of the pipe, and can be used to test
numerical algorithms, as well as to construct approximate equations based on postulating a certain
a priori dependence of the solution with respect to the radial coordinate. In the following, the mass
conservation law will be taken in the form (5), whereas the m o m e n t u m balance law will be reduced
to an equation for Q and pressure p in order to construct an approximate model.

4. Lubrication theory

Formally, the lubrication theory approximation follows from the asymptotic expansion of the
solution in a power series in the small parameter e, along with an appropriate scaling of the
unknown functions. In order to keep the continuity equation (1) in the original form, let us render
the variables t, x, r, vx, vr, p dimensionless by T, L, R, V, eV, P, respectively, where P is the
characteristic pressure drop at the pipe ends and
L PR 2
T=-~, V=fiL

The overbar stands for the mean value. U p o n non-dimensionalizing the variables in Eqs. (1)-(4),
one ends up with the dimensionless groups

fiPR 4
q - fpi LRW2 , Re - fiZL2 ,

where W is the characteristic amplitude of the axial velocity of the pipe wall. Note that q is the ratio
of the wall velocity to the velocity generated by the pressure drop, and Re is the Reynolds number.
Finally, let us assume that q is bounded but Re vanishes as e ~ 0. As a result, the following system
of equations, written in dimensional variables, is obtained to leading order (Shapiro et al., 1969):
1 ~ f t~vx~ Op ~p
r Or ~/~r -~r J = ~ x ' O---r= 0. (7)

It is worth emphasizing that the pressure depends on x and t only, and so does density as well as
viscosity. In particular,
A(x, t) = np(x, t)aZ(x, t), (8)
 L.K. Antanovskii, H. Ramkissoon / Fluid Dynamics Research 19 (1997) 115-123 119

and Eqs. (7) with the aid of Eq. (4) lead to the parabolic profile of velocity,
r z - aZ(x, t) Op(x, t)
vx(x, r, t) = w(x, t) +
4/~(x, t) ~x '
which is called the Hagen-Poiseuille flow. Hence,

Ix, =
8#(x, t) 0x " (9)
The mass conservation law (5) in combination with Eqs. (8) and (9) results in the parabolic equation
for pressure,
0 ~ A[P(p)a40p]
05 [P(p)a2] + ~x [P(p)a2w] = ~x k 8/~(p) ~xx " (10)

Note that p'(p) is positive, whose physical meaning is the inverse sound speed squared. The
coefficients a and w are given, and pressure has to be imposed at both ends of the pipe. An analogue
of Eq. (10) at zero w and constant a but complicated with the radial dependence of viscosity being
a function of temperature, is widely used in the molding of thermoplastic materials to describe
one-dimensional flow in a sprue and runners (Kennedy, 1993).
For constant density and viscosity, this equation reduces to the elliptic problem
[ a4 (x, t) Op(x, t) ] c~ 0
~xk ~ 0x ~ = ~ [ a 2 ( x ' t ) ] + ~ x [ a Z ( x ' t ) w ( x ' t ) ] '

p(O, t) = po(t), p(L, t) = pl(t),

which is solved explicitly to give
Op(x, t) _ pl(t) - po(t) + 812 ~L U(x, y, t)a-4(y, t)dy, (11)
Ox a4(x, t) ~La-4(y, t)dy
where

U(x, y, t) = -~ a2(z, t) dz + a2(x, t)w(x, t) - a2(y, t)w(y, t).

Note that U(x, y, t) = - U ( y , x, t), which gives consistency of Eq. (11) with the boundary condi-
tions for pressure. The total flux takes the form

Q(x, t) = ~p a4(y, t) ( U~

+f~[a2(y,t)w(y,t)__~flaZ(z,t
~ x ) d z J ~ } dy. (12)

Thus, all the flow characteristics are completely determined by the pressure drop p o ( t ) - pl(t)
along the pipe, and by the functions a(x, t) and w(x, t) describing the shape evolution of the pipe.
120 L.K. Antanovskii, H. Ramkissoon /Fluid Dynamics Research 19 (1997) 115 123

4.1. Effect of the inertia terms

Following the spirit of the theory of thin liquid films, a simple model accounting for inertial and
viscous effects is proposed here. The model is based on the a priori radial dependence of velocity,

2Q(x, t)[A(x, t) - 7~pr 2 ] (13)

Vx(X , r, t) = A2(x, t) '
suggested by the lubrication theory. For simplicity, the case of constant density and viscosity, with
the assumption that w -- 0, is considered.
To avoid non-dimensionalizing the variables, let us formally stretch r and vr by e in Eqs. (2) and
(3), and drop all the terms vanishing as e ~ 0. As a result, Eq. (2) does not change, whereas Eq. (3)
takes the reduced form

Or Or ]
-~r (ttrvr) .
In particular, due to the continuity equation (la),
0 {Q(x,t)[A(x,t)-npr2]}
p(x, r, t) = P(x, t) - 2it ~x A~i-tj " (14)

Integrating Eq. (2) premultiplied by 2rtr, from 0 to a(x, t), and using Eqs. (13) and (14), one obtains

P --~-+3~-XX =2#~t~X2 ~[\~xJ +2rrpA -A~x. (15)

Here A is given, whereas the modified pressure P and flux Q are unknowns. The model requires
P to be imposed at both ends of the pipe, and Q must be given at one side of the pipe, as well as
initially. This approach is a modification of the well-known Galerkin m e t h o d for solution of
non-linear boundary-value problems, which is based on an appropriate approximation of both the
solution and governing equations of the problem by a finite set of basic functions. This m e t h o d was
applied to flow in a thin film on a solid surface (Kapitsa, 1948; Levich, 1967; D e m e k h i n and
Shkadov, 1984; Antanovskii, 1987).

5. Results and discussion

In order to investigate the effect of peristalsis on the fluid pumping, let us calculate Eq. (12) in
dimensionless variables with the particular coefficients
a(x, t) = 1 + ~a sin(2rt~oat + 0a) sin (r~k~x),
w(x, t) = ~w sin (2rWOwt+ Ow) sin (rtkwx),
Po (t) - p i (t) = 1 + av sin (2nogp t).
The parameter ~ is called the occlusion number, and ~w is actually equal to q.
 L.K. Antanovskii, H. Ramkissoon / Fluid Dynamics Research 19 (1997) 115 123 121

Furthermore, let us assume that all the periods of oscillation have the minimum c o m m o n period
T. Then we can introduce the averaged flux

O_ = ~ Q(x, t) dt,

which does not depend on x due to Eq. (5). Let us introduce the following dimensionless parameter:
8pQ
f- npR4P •
Our objective is to plot the function

f = f (~., ~w, ~p; co., cow, cop; 0., 0~; k., kw).
Note that
f(0, 0, 0; co,, cow, cop; 0,, Ow; k,, k~,) = 1,
and hence f can be called as the amplification factor.
In order to reduce the number of independent parameters, let us consider the half wavelength of
the pipe that corresponds to k, = k~ = 1. Moreover, all the frequencies are taken to be equal to
a unit.
The amplification factor as a function of the phase displacement of peristalsis and velocity
oscillation is plotted in Fig. 1. It is seen that the maximum amplification occurs at zero-phase
displacements. In other words, synchronic oscillation gives rise to the greatest flow rate. It can be
also noted that the graph is symmetric with respect to the interchange of phase lag and phase lead.
Fig. 2 shows the amplification factor as a function of the oscillatory pressure amplitude and the
occlusion number at zero-phase displacements. As is expected, no amplification is seen at zero

2.5

1.5

.=_o 1

0.5

-2
Velocity phase displacement -4 -4
Peristalsis phase displacement

Fig. 1. The amplification factor as a function of the peristalsis and velocity-phase displacement. It is seen that the
amplification factor attains its maximum value at zero-phase displacements.
122 L.K. Antanovskii, H. Ramkissoon / Fluid Dynamics Research 19 (1997) 115-123

3.5

2.5

2
g
1.5

<E

0.8

Occlusion number 0 0
Pulsating pressure amplitude

Fig. 2. The amplification factor as a function of the oscillatory pressure amplitude and the occlusion number. It is seen
that there is no amplification without peristalsis.

occlusion number. Physically, it means that the averaged flow rate in a cylindrical tube is
indifferent to the pulsating component of pressure. The behavior of the plot definitely demonstrates
that peristalsis in combination with the synchronically pulsating pressure is capable of drastically
enhancing the flow rate.

6. Conclusion

A model for the peristaltic motion of a compressible viscous fluid with the effect of time-
dependent pressure gradient is derived following the spirit of the lubrication theory.
Simple numerical simulations demonstrate that the solution has expected properties and
therefore can be used to evaluate, say, blood flow in a living body. A more general model
accounting for the inertia effect is also derived using an a priori approximation of the flow velocity
across the pipe.

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to an a n o n y m o u s referee for helpful suggestions on an earlier

manuscript.
 L.K. Antanovskii, H. Ramkissoon / Fluid Dynamics Research 19 (1997) 115 123 123

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