Nonaffinity and Fluid-Coupled Viscoelastic Plateau for Immersed Fiber Networks

We employ a matrix-based solver for the linear rheology of fluid-immersed disordered spring networks to reveal four distinct dynamic response regimes. One regime—completely absent in the known vacuum response—exhibits coupled fluid flow and network deformation, with both components responding nonaffinely. This regime contains an additional plateau (peak) in the frequency-dependent storage (loss) modulus—features that vanish without full hydrodynamic interactions. The mechanical response of immersed networks such as biopolymers and hydrogels is thus richer than previously established and offers additional modalities for design and control through fluid interactions.