Peristaltic flow and heat transfer in a vertical porous annulus, with long wave approximation

Abstract

In this paper, we study the interaction of peristalsis with heat transfer for the flow of a viscous fluid in a vertical porous annular region between two concentric tubes. Long wavelength approximation (that is, the wavelength of the peristaltic wave is large in comparison with the radius of the tube) is used to linearise the governing equations. Using the perturbation method, the solutions are obtained for the velocity and the temperature fields. Also, the closed form expressions are derived for the pressure–flow relationship and the heat transfer at the wall. The effect of pressure drop on flux is observed to be almost negligible for peristaltic waves of large amplitude; however, the mean flux is found to increase by 10–12% as the free convection parameter increases from 1 to 2. Also, the heat transfer at the wall is affected significantly by the amplitude of the peristaltic wave. This warrants further study on the effects of peristalsis on the flow and heat transfer characteristics.