Peristaltic transport and heat transfer of a MHD Newtonian fluid with variable viscosity

The influence of temperature‐dependent viscosity and magnetic field on the peristaltic flow of an incompressible, viscous Newtonian fluid is investigated. The governing equations are derived under the assumptions of long wavelength approximation. A regular perturbation expansion method is used to obtain the analytical solutions for the velocity and temperature fields. The expressions for the pressure rise, friction force and the relation between the flow rate and pressure gradient are obtain. In addition to analytical solutions, numerical results are also computed and compared with the analytical results with good agreement. The results are plotted for different values of variable viscosity parameter β, Hartmann number M, and amplitude ratio ?. It is found that the pressure rise decreases as the viscosity parameter β increases and it increases as the Hartmann number M increases. Finally, the maximum pressure rise (σ=0) increases as M increases and β decreases. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.