Lagrangian transport induced by peristaltic pumping in a closed channel

Abstract

Lagrangian transport induced by peristaltic waves traveling on the boundaries of a two-dimensional rectangular closed channel is studied analytically. Based on the Lagrangian description, an asymptotic analysis is performed to generate explicit expressions for the leading-order oscillatory as well as the higher-order time-mean mass transport (or steady streaming) velocities as functions of the wave properties. Two cases are considered. The first case, which is for slow wave frequency or very small wave amplitude such that the steady-streaming Reynolds number (Res) is very small, recovers the one studied previously in the literature, but with all the results fully presented in the Lagrangian sense. The second case, corresponding to high-frequency pumping such as Res is order unity, is where it has been handled analytically. It is found that the overall mixing resulting from the mass transport can depend on the phase shift of the two waves, the wave number, the frequency, as well as the amplitude of the waves. © 2009 The American Physical Society.