Peristaltic Motion of a Particle-Fluid Suspension in a Planar Channel

We analyze the mechanics of peristaltic pumpingof a particle-fluid suspension in a channel. Aperturbation series (to second order) in dimensionlesswave number of an infinite harmonic travelling wave is used to obtain an explicit form for thevelocities and a relation between the flow rate and thepressure gradient in terms of the Reynolds number,concentration of the particles, suspension parameters, and the occlusion. We discuss the effect of theconcentration of the particles, the Reynolds number, andthe wave number on the pressure rise, peristalticpumping, augmented pumping, and backward pumping. We also discuss the phenomenon oftrapping.