Peristaltic pumping

Peristaltic pumping transports fluid by a travelling deformation or travelling external pressure acting on a tube. With wave coordinate $X=x-ct$, mass conservation makes the relative flux $Q=\alpha (u-c)$ constant. The laboratory flux is $\alpha u=c\alpha +Q$, so a negative relative flux does not rule out forward mean pumping.

For negligible inertia, periodic forcing $p_e=ϵP_e\sin kX$, resistance $R\propto {\alpha }^{-n}$ and prescribed mean area ${\alpha }_0$, write $Q=-c{\alpha }_0+{ϵ}^2{Q}_2+\cdots$. First-order area obeys ${\tilde{P}}_0^{\prime }{\alpha }_1^{\prime }+R_{0}c{\alpha }_1/{\alpha }_0=-k{P}_e\cos kX$. Its mean square is $P_e^2/[2({\tilde{P}}_0^{\prime 2}+(R_{0}c/(k{\alpha }_0){)}^2)]$. Averaging the second-order friction balance gives $Q_2=c(n+1)⟨{\alpha }_1^2⟩/{\alpha }_0$, proving the displayed forward pumping rate. Periodicity entails zero mean pressure drop; the mean-area convention fixes the expansion's otherwise free constant.