Peristaltic Pumping of Maxwell Fluids in a Curved Channel: a Model for Intestinal Transport

Abstract

Chyme is propelled through large and small intestines by peristalsis which is a wavelike propulsion of muscular contraction and relaxation. Chyme is a strongly rheological biofluid and requires non-Newtonian models for accurate simulation. Motivated by gastric transport applications, in this paper, a peristaltic transport model is developed to analyze the hydrodynamics of chyme movement through the large intestine. Chyme is modelled with the generalized (fractional) Maxwell viscoelastic model. The geometry for the large intestine is approximated as a two-dimensional curved channel. The analysis is carried out under the lubrication theory and low Reynolds number approximation. The approximate solutions of the governing equations under complex boundary conditions are obtained by deploying the Reduced Differential Transformation Method. Trapping phenomena are also analyzed graphically. The effects of fractional parameter, relaxation time, curvature and amplitude on the pressure difference and friction force are visualized graphically and interpreted in detail. The present simulations are applicable in gastric transport phenomena and the design of novel intestinal devices (colonoscopy) in biomedical engineering.