Paper Number
PO12 

Session
Poster Session

Title
Rheology of composite biopolymer networks under shear

Presentation Date and Time
October 12, 2022 (Wednesday) 6:30

Track / Room
Poster Session / Riverwalk A

Authors (Click on name to view author profile)

  1. Gannavarapu, Anupama (Rice University, Chemical and biomolecular engineering)
  2. Arzash, Sadjad (Syracuse University, Department of Physics)
  3. MacKintosh, Fred C. (Rice University, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)

Author and Affiliation Lines (in printed abstract book)
Anupama Gannavarapu1, Sadjad Arzash2 and Fred C. MacKintosh1
1Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77004; 2Department of Physics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244

Speaker / Presenter 
Gannavarapu, Anupama

Keywords
theoretical methods; computational methods; biomaterials; composite rheology

Text of Abstract
Fibrous networks such as collagen are common in biological systems. Recent theoretical and experimental efforts have shed light on the mechanics of a single component network. However real biopolymer networks are composite materials made of elements with different rigidity, e.g., extracellular matrix consists of stiff collagen in a soft background matrix. Understanding the effects of the interplay between different biopolymer networks remains unclear. In this work, we use 2D coarse-grained models to study the nonlinear strain-stiffening behavior in composites. The local volume constraints due to a soft matrix are implemented by adding an energy cost that is quadratic in change of area. When subjected to linear shear strain, the composite network was observed to have several orders of magnitude higher bulk modulus than shear modulus. By calculating the nonaffine fluctuations, we investigate the effect of local volume constraints on the critical signatures of the composite under a nonlinear shear strain. Further, we explore the physical compressible and incompressible limits of the composite network by varying material parameters.