A Compact Peristaltic Pump Based on Magneto-Elastic Hysteresis with Single Pneumatic Control

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel soft membrane peristaltic pump actuated by a single pneumatic input and an embedded passive magnet, simplifying design and control for fluid transport applications.

Contribution

It presents a new magneto-elastic hysteresis-based pump design that reduces complexity by combining pneumatic actuation with passive magnetic elements.

Findings

Validated the magneto-elastic hysteresis behavior experimentally.

Numerical simulations accurately predicted internal fluid flow.

Simplified modeling of pump dynamics was achieved.

Abstract

Pumping fluids is fundamental to a wide range of industrial, environmental, and biomedical applications. Among various pumping mechanisms, peristaltic pumps enable efficient and safe fluid transport by deforming an elastic tube without direct contact with the working fluid. Although previous studies have introduced mechanical, pneumatic, or magnetic actuations to drive membrane deformation, these approaches often lead to complex pump architectures and control schemes. In this study, we present a soft membrane pump that achieves peristaltic motion through a single pneumatic input combined with an embedded passive magnet. The actuation mechanism and system dynamics were analyzed and simplified through modeling. Numerical simulations were conducted to predict the internal fluid flow, and the magneto-elastic hysteresis behavior observed in the simulations was successfully validated by experiments with a proof-of-concept prototype.