Distribution efficiency and structure of complex networks

Abstract

Flow networks efficiently transport nutrients and other solutes in many physical systems, such as plant and animal vasculature. In the case of the animal circulatory system, an adequate oxygen and nutrient supply is not guaranteed everywhere: as nutrients travel through the microcirculation and get absorbed, they become less available at the venous side of the vascular network. Ensuring that the nutrient distribution is homogeneous provides a fitness advantage, as all tissue gets enough supply to survive while waste is minimized. How do animals build such a uniform perfusing flow system? We propose a local adaptation rule for the vessel radii that is able to equalize perfusion, while minimizing energy dissipation to circulate the flow and the material cost. The rule is a combination of different objective cost functions that compete to produce complex network morphologies ranging from hierarchical architectures to uniform mesh grids, depending on how each cost is weighted. We find that our local adaptation rules are consistent with experimental data of the rat mesentery vasculature.

The fluidic memristor: collective phenomena in elastohydrodynamic networks

“…This approach is simple and powerful, allowing for easy assessment of flow and pressure distribution within the system [4]. It also facilitates the study of network properties, such as robustness, hierarchy, and phenomena like network remodeling and tuning [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. However, experiments have shown that natural flow networks can contain intrinsically nonlinear elements that do not conform to Ohm's law.…”