Influence of motility on couple stress fluid flow through a channel with slip constraints

The energy loss associated with the beating of cilia in the human stomach, leading to acidity in the blood flow under certain conditions, has become a critical topic in modern medical research. This study investigates entropy generation in the flow of cilia-generated metachronal waves of couple stress fluid through a channel, incorporating the effects of velocity slip, viscous dissipation, and an externally applied magnetic field. The flow is governed by metachronal wave propagation along the ciliated channel walls. Using the lubrication hypothesis, the governing equations are normalized and solved analytically via the integration technique. Graphical representations illustrate the impact of key physical parameters on the flow behavior, providing a deeper physical interpretation of the system dynamics. Special emphasis is placed on analyzing pumping efficiency and trapped bolus formation in couple stress fluid due to ciliary metachronism. The results indicate that the axial velocity is observed to be enhanced in the core region with greater wave number whereas it is suppressed markedly with increasing cilia length, couple stress, and magnetic parameters. Axial pressure gradient is decreased with eccentricity parameter whereas it is elevated with cilia length, in the channel core region. The pressure-flow rate relationship is confirmed to be inversely linear and pumping, free pumping, and augmented pumping zones are all examined. Bolus trapping is also analyzed. The fluid temperature is enhanced by enhancing the values of the Brinkman number and decreases by increasing the thermal radiation parameter. These findings offer valuable insights into the optimization of biomedical microfluidic devices, particularly in the design of magnetic micro-bots for targeted medical applications.