Speaker
Description
Many biological, geophysical and industrial systems rely on the transport of material through fluid flow across complex networks. Suspensions in these systems are prone to clogging, particularly in confined geometries, with potentially severe consequences on system function. However, predictive frameworks that couple suspension rheology with network-scale flow redistribution remain limited. Here we develop a minimal continuum model for dense suspension transport in networks, combining a two-phase description of suspension flow with flux-partitioning rules at junctions.
Using simple network motifs, we show how constrictions impose finite solid-flux limits that redistribute particles between branches, drive upstream accumulation, and increase resistance. We demonstrate how these local mechanisms can give rise to strongly non-local effects, including non-local clogging. We formalise these processes through a clogging algorithm embedded within a global flow solver, enabling prediction of steady particle distributions and clogs in arbitrary networks.
Applying the framework to bio-inspired networks such as the retinal vasculature, we show how junction-level flux constraints combine to produce emergent network-scale heterogeneity via non-local clogging. Our results provide a mechanistic link between suspension physics, network geometry and transport, and offer a simple continuum approach for studying clogging in networks.
