Model Gallery

Model ID: 985

FSI in a Peristaltic Pump

In a peristaltic pump, rotating rollers squeeze a flexible tube. As the rollers move along the tube, the fluid in the tube follows the motion. The main advantage of the peristaltic pump is that no seals, valves or other internal parts ever touch the fluid. Due to their cleanliness, peristaltic pumps have found many applications in the pharmaceutical, chemical, biomedical and food industries.

This COMSOL Multiphysics model of a peristaltic pump is a combination of structural mechanics, for modeling the squeezing of the tube, and fluid dynamics, for computing the motion of the fluid. As it is the deformations of the tube that drives the fluid, the fluid part of the simulation needs to be done in a moving mesh.

This model also shows some postprocessing features. Integration coupling variables are defined for the flow computations and for evaluating the inside volume of the tube. An ordinary differential equation is also used for calculating the accumulated flow.

Velocity field and vector after 0.8s. Also shown is the extent of the deformation on the wall.

• Click here to get more information about this model