Programmable Bistability of Wall-Anchored Elastic Fibers in Microfluidics

The flow-induced deformation of confined, anchored fibers in microfluidic channels can exhibit bistability, manifesting as nonlinear snapping behaviors. Here, we demonstrate such nonlinearities in both flow-controlled and pressure-controlled systems. We show that in flow-controlled geometries, the response of nonlinear components remains independent of the linear elements, reflecting the presence of a single global constraint. In contrast, pressure-controlled systems exhibit a coupling between linear and nonlinear elements, enabling modulation of the nonlinear response through the linear components. We show how this nonlocal coupling can be used to tune the accessible states in this system.