Methodology for design calculation of a peristaltic pump with a linearly placed tube compressed by pushers

BACKGROUND: Peristaltic pumps are widely used in the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries, microbiology, robotics, and other fields requiring sterility and precise flow rate. Currently, in addition to the most common rotary peristaltic pumps, linear peristaltic pumps are also produced. Their drive design typically allows to implement relatively simple and accurate flow rate control. However, there are only a few peristaltic pump design methodologies that focus on rotary or diaphragm pump designs. AIM: Development of a design calculation methodology for a linear peristaltic pump with three pushers transversely compressing the pump tube. METHODS: The design calculation is based on a mathematical model of pump flow derived from the Bernoulli equation. To determine the geometric parameters of the compressed tube, the SolidWorks Simulation program was used, which uses the Finite Element Method. StarCCM+, a computational fluid dynamics program based on the finite volume method, was used to determine local resistance coefficients. The pump pushers’ size was determined using the bisection method. RESULTS: Computer modeling of tube deformation yielded functions approximating the relationships between the geometric parameters of a compressed tube, necessary for design calculations. Computational fluid dynamics was used to obtain the local hydraulic resistance parameters generated near the compressed regions of the tube. Based on this data and the mathematical model of fluid flow in the pump, a computer program was developed for design calculations of the pump's geometric parameters. CONCLUSION: Using the developed design calculation methodology, it is possible to calculate the main pump parameters without significant time consumption. The methodology is limited to cases of laminar fluid flow in the pump tube.