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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 45: Poster: Nonlinear Dynamics, Pattern Formation and Networks

DY 45.13: Poster

Thursday, March 30, 2023, 13:00–16:00, P1

Stimulating self-optimisation of flow networks for transport — •Swarnavo Basu and Karen Alim — School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Germany

Flow transport in networks is ubiquitous in biology (e.g. blood vasculature) and engineering (e.g. porous media). Many biological networks are adaptive and can self-organise in response to external stimuli. They homogenise flow to achieve optimal perfusion and a uniform flow of chemicals across the network. In contrast, engineered networks of random media have heterogeneous flow velocity distributions across the network. Self-organising engineered networks that can homogenise flow will have many applications, ranging from microfluidic networks for cooling batteries and chemical reactors to in vitro vasculature for perfusing tissues and implants. We propose a model of a network whose tube radii can be controlled using periodic inflows of pulses of an eroding agent that erodes the network’s walls. We observe that such networks self-organise in response to the eroding agent, leading to a homogenised flow. This provides a framework for engineering networks that can self-organise to achieve optimal perfusion.