How do peristaltic pumps work?

Peristaltic pumps are a type of positive displacement pump. The pumps use the principle of peristalsis as the basis for their design. Peristalsis, in a biological sense, is a series of muscle contractions that moves food to different parts along the digestive system.

How do peristaltic pumps work?

Rollers or shoes in a peristaltic pump compress the tube or hose as they rotate, creating a vacuum which draws fluid through the tube.

Nothing but the pump tube or hose touches the fluid, eliminating the risk of the pump contaminating the fluid, or the fluid contaminating the pump. The animation shows fluid being drawn into a pump tube, trapped by the pumphead roller, and expelled when the next roller passes over the tube. As the rollers rotate, a vacuum is formed in the tube, pulling in more fluid, for the next roller pass.

The complete closure of the tube when is it occluded (squeezed) between the roller and the track, gives the pump its positive displacement action, preventing backflow and eliminating the need for check-valves when the pump is not running.

How a peristaltic pump works

Why choose a Watson-Marlow peristaltic pump?

• Easy to install, simple to operate and inexpensive to maintain
• Scalable technology to meet a variety of processing needs
• Low shear, gentle handling without impellors, vanes, lobes or valves in the fluid path
• Delivers flow stability and metering accuracy
• The only replacement part is the low cost tube, which can quickly be replaced in-situ

What are the advantages of using peristaltic?

The main advantage of peristaltic pumps is that nothing but the tube touches the fluid.  Because only the inner bore of the tube touches the fluid, they eliminate the risk of the pump contaminating the fluid, or the fluid contaminating the pump.

The animation shows fluid being drawn into a pump tube, trapped by the pumphead roller, and expelled when the next roller passes over the tube. As the rollers rotate, a vacuum is formed in the tube, pulling in more fluid, for the next roller pass.

The complete closure of the tube when is it occluded (squeezed) between the roller and the track, gives the pump its positive displacement action, preventing backflow and eliminating the need for check-valves when the pump is not running.