Dynamics of rigid and flexible fibers in complex viscous flows

Fiber suspensions flowing in structured media are encountered in many biological and industrial systems. Due to their finite size and elongation, complex dynamics are observed when fibers are transported in spatially varying flows, even at small Reynolds numbers. The presence of bounding walls or obstacles modifies trajectories due to wall friction or the possibility of fiber obstacle contact. When fibers become deformable, an additional degree of freedom is added, resulting in complex morphologies and modified transport properties. Here we investigate these dynamics using microfluidic model systems with a special focus on particle separation.