Nonlinear response of soft hair beds to Poiseuille flows

Abstract

Biological surfaces with micrometer-scale protrusions, such as microvilli, crustacean hairs, and cilia, often interact with pressure-driven fluid flow, resulting in a two-way elastoviscous problem. Characterizing their response to flow can enable applications in microfluidics, bioinspired engineering, and smart materials. Here, we investigate a biomimetic hair system subjected to pressure-driven flow experimentally and theoretically. We show that the rescaled resistance and rescaled pressure of various hair and chamber conditions collapse into an inverse power law after a critical dimensionless pressure, yielding one characteristic response across conditions. Our model predicts the behavior of angled hairs under Poiseuille flow along and against the grain, with the latter exhibiting significantly higher resistance. Finally, we demonstrate a conceptual application of angled hair beds to prevent backflow during intravenous therapy. This work establishes a unified model and experimental characterization of hair bed behavior in pressure-driven flows, advancing understanding of hair-flow interactions and laying the foundation for innovative applications.