From Classical Trapping to Curvature-Induced Bolus Formation in Peristaltic Wave-Driven Flows
Abstract
Bolus formation is one of the most distinctive features of peristaltic transport, yet the mechanisms governing its development remain incompletely understood. In this work, axisymmetric peristaltic-wave-driven flows under zero-pressure-gradient conditions are investigated using a high-fidelity lattice Boltzmann framework over a broad range of wave amplitudes, wavelengths, and Reynolds numbers spanning the Stokes limit to Re=100. In the Stokes limit, bolus formation is governed by the classical trapping mechanism and exhibits a remarkable wavelength-normalized similarity, with both bolus morphology and transport characteristics approaching common asymptotic behaviors as the wavelength increases. As fluid inertia becomes significant, this similarity progressively breaks down and wavelength-dependent trapping behavior emerges. In the short-wavelength regime, the pronounced geometric bending of the wave reorganizes the local flow structure and produces a distinct off-axis bolus associated with a curvature-induced trapping mechanism. The influence of this mechanism expands toward longer wavelengths with increasing Reynolds number and occupies an increasingly large portion of the parameter space considered in the present study. The results reveal that bolus formation cannot be described by a single universal mechanism. Instead, the observed trapping behavior arises from the competition between classical trapping and curvature-induced trapping, whose relative importance is controlled by wavelength, wave amplitude, and Reynolds number. These findings establish a unified physical framework for understanding bolus formation and transport in peristaltic-wave-driven flows.
Related
- Dynamics of thermalization in classical three-dimensional many-body systems: Non-Maxwellian distributions and the role of anisotropic trapping
- Formation and Charge Relaxation of Julia-Zee Dyons in Classical Lattice Simulations
- Beyond isolated curvature peaks: collective collapse and multiple Primordial Black Hole formation
- Entanglement-of-formation potentials for feedback-assisted classical communication and randomness distillation
- Mathematical modeling on peristaltic flow of a Prandtl fluid with effects of slip conditions and inclined magnetic field
BibTeX
@misc{josipovic2026from,
title = {{From Classical Trapping to Curvature-Induced Bolus Formation in Peristaltic Wave-Driven Flows}},
author = {Lucija Josipovic and Melissa Reyes Munoz and Fernando Mendez Estrada and Hui Wan and Fangjun Shu and Yanxing Wang},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.24219},
eprint = {2610.24219},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.24219},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - From Classical Trapping to Curvature-Induced Bolus Formation in Peristaltic Wave-Driven Flows
AU - Lucija Josipovic
AU - Melissa Reyes Munoz
AU - Fernando Mendez Estrada
AU - Hui Wan
AU - Fangjun Shu
AU - Yanxing Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.24219
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.24219
AB - Bolus formation is one of the most distinctive features of peristaltic transport, yet the mechanisms governing its development remain incompletely understood. In this work, axisymmetric peristaltic-wave-driven flows under zero-pressure-gradient conditions are investigated using a high-fidelity lattice Boltzmann framework over a broad range of wave amplitudes, wavelengths, and Reynolds numbers spanning the Stokes limit to Re=100. In the Stokes limit, bolus formation is governed by the classical trapping mechanism and exhibits a remarkable wavelength-normalized similarity, with both bolus morphology and transport characteristics approaching common asymptotic behaviors as the wavelength increases. As fluid inertia becomes significant, this similarity progressively breaks down and wavelength-dependent trapping behavior emerges. In the short-wavelength regime, the pronounced geometric bending of the wave reorganizes the local flow structure and produces a distinct off-axis bolus associated with a curvature-induced trapping mechanism. The influence of this mechanism expands toward longer wavelengths with increasing Reynolds number and occupies an increasingly large portion of the parameter space considered in the present study. The results reveal that bolus formation cannot be described by a single universal mechanism. Instead, the observed trapping behavior arises from the competition between classical trapping and curvature-induced trapping, whose relative importance is controlled by wavelength, wave amplitude, and Reynolds number. These findings establish a unified physical framework for understanding bolus formation and transport in peristaltic-wave-driven flows.
ER -