Valveless Pumping with an Unsteady Stenosis in an Open Tank Configuration

Abstract

This work examines the beneficial role of an unsteady stenosis, not driven by any external energy source, as a means for augmenting the flow rate of a valveless pump in a hydraulic loop, including an open tank. In contrast to our previous work, in which the concept of the latter stenosis was introduced for the first time in a horizontal closed loop, here, gravity was taken into account. The stenosis neck cross-sectional area was controlled by the fluid pressure and the opposing force applied externally by a spring of adjustable tension. A pincher compressed and decompressed a part of the pump’s flexible tube periodically, with frequencies from 5 Hz to 11 Hz and compression ratios Ab from 24% to 65%. The presence of the stenosis increased the net flow rate by 19 times for Ab = 24% and 6.3 times for Ab = 38%; whereas for Ab = 65%, the flow rates were comparable. The volumetric efficiency varied from 30% to 40% under the presence of the stenosis, and from 2% to 20% without the stenosis. The role of the stenosis was to cause a unidirectional flow, opening during tube compression and closing during decompression. The pressure amplitudes along the flexible tube increased towards the rigid–flexible tube junction (as a result of the wave reflections), which were found to be significantly attenuated by the presence of the stenosis, whereas the flow rate pulsations did not exceed 10% of the mean at the peak net flow rates.