Scattering theory for Stokes flow in complex branched structures

Abstract: Slow, viscous flow in branched structures arises in many biological and engineering settings. Direct numerical simulation of flow in such complicated multi-scale geometry, however, is a computationally intensive task. We propose a scattering theory framework that dramatically reduces this cost by decomposing networks into components connected by short straight channels. Exploiting the phenomenon of rapid return to Poiseuille flow (Saint-Venant's principle in the context of elasticity), we compute a high-order accurate scattering matrix for each component via boundary integral equations. These precomputed components can then be assembled into arbitrary branched structures, and the precomputed local solutions on each component can be assembled into an accurate global solution. The method is modular, has negligible cost, and appears to be the first full-fidelity solver that makes use of the return to Poiseuille flow phenomenon. In our two-dimensional examples, it matches the accuracy of full-domain solvers while requiring only a fraction of the computational effort.