Mathis Coutadeur
(LadHyX, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris,91120 Palaiseau, France)
The transport of flexible fibers through complex environments, such as porous and structured media, occurs in a variety of systems like textile microplastics in soils. Additionally, particle sorting or separation using structured media, such as pillar arrays, is essential to many processes, such as biological analysis or environmental assessment. However, due to their deformability and elongated shapes, fibers can exhibit complex trajectories and intricate dynamics in tortuous flows. Here we combine model microfluidic experiments and numerical simulations to investigate the dynamics of flexible fibers in pillar arrays. We report a non-monotonic migration dynamics with fiber length, identifying a distinct ”band-pass” sorting mechanism. We investigate the effect of geometrical parameters (porosity, incident flow angle) and mechanical parameters (fiber deformability) on this band pass effect. We define an operational domain in which this effect occurs, and identify the conditions for optimal separation. Our findings not only help in the design of efficient separation and filtration technologies, but also shed light on the dynamics of deformable objects in tortuous environments.
Mathis Coutadeur
(LadHyX, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris,91120 Palaiseau, France)
Dr
Zhibo Li
(Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes, Écoles Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la ville de Paris, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, 75005, Paris, France)
Dr
Clément Bielinski
(LadHyX, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris,91120 Palaiseau, France)
Dr
Etienne Jambon-Puillet
(CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris,91120 Palaiseau, France)
Prof.
Anke Lindner
(Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes, Écoles Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la ville de Paris, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, 75005, Paris, France Institut universitaire de France (IUF), France)
Prof.
Olivia Du Roure
(Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes, Écoles Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la ville de Paris, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, 75005, Paris, France)
Dr
Blaise Delmotte
(LadHyX, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris,91120 Palaiseau, France)