# gst: emergent oscillations and chaos in noncompliant microfluidic networks.

<< Incompressible fluids in microfluidic networks with nonrigid channels can exhibit flow rate oscillations analogous to electric current oscillations in RLC (resistor, inductor, capacitor) circuits. This is due to the elastic deformation of channel walls that can store and release fluid, as electric capacitors can store and release electric charges. This property is quantified through the compliance of the system, defined as the volume change relative to the pressure change. >>

<< In systems with rigid walls and incompressible fluid, compliance vanishes, and no oscillations can occur through this mechanism. >>

Here, AA << show that not only oscillations but also chaos can emerge in the flow-rate dynamics of noncompliant microfluidic networks with incompressible fluid. Notably, these dynamics emerge spontaneously, even under time-independent driving pressures. The underlying mechanism is governed by the effect of fluid inertia, which becomes relevant at moderate Reynolds numbers observed in microfluidic systems exhibiting complex flow patterns. >>

<< The results are established using a combination of direct numerical simulations and a reduced model derived from modal analysis. This approach enables (AA) to determine the onset of oscillations, the associated bifurcations, the oscillation frequencies and amplitudes, and their dependence on the driving pressures. >>

Yanxuan Shao, Jean-Regis Angilella, Adilson E. Motter. Emergent oscillations and chaos in noncompliant microfluidic networks. Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 054401. May 1, 2025.

https://journals.aps.org/prfluids/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.10.054401

arXiv: 2505.00068v1 [physics.flu-dyn]. 

https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.00068

Also: network, elastic, chaos, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, networks, microfluidic networks, noncompliant networks with incompressible fluid, fluid inertia, 

driving pressures, elasticity, chaos.