1989 Volume 15 Issue 6 Pages 1187-1192
Flow characteristics in a peristaltic bioreactor were studied experimentally by the flow visualization technique. It was observed by the dye injection method that the fluid close to the peristaltic wall moved forward, and the fluid in the center region moved backward both with forward and backward motions during one period cycle. It was found that the fluid in the container moved only within the compartment which is divided by imaginary walls. The existence of the imaginary walls was confirmed by longitudinal velocity profiles obtained from tracer trajectories. The similarity of the longitudinal velocity profiles was also shown experimentally.
By considering the cross-sectional flow rate, it was shown that the imaginary walls exist at locations which satisfy an integer multiple of the wave length.
