Peristaltic Pump
Application ID: 985
In this example of a peristaltic pump, rollers squeeze a flexible tube and the compression drives a fluid through the tube. The model demonstrates how to use the Fluid-Structure Interaction interface.
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 (to model the squeezing of the tube) and fluid dynamics (to compute the fluid’s motion); that is, this is an example of fluid-structure interaction (FSI).
This model also shows some analysis 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.
This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products:
however, additional products may be required to completely define and model it. Furthermore, this example may also be defined and modeled using components from the following product combinations:
- COMSOL Multiphysics® and
- either the MEMS Module, Multibody Dynamics Module, or Structural Mechanics Module
The combination of COMSOL® products required to model your application depends on several factors and may include boundary conditions, material properties, physics interfaces, and part libraries. Particular functionality may be common to several products. To determine the right combination of products for your modeling needs, review the Specification Chart and make use of a free evaluation license. The COMSOL Sales and Support teams are available for answering any questions you may have regarding this.