Tristability in viscoelastic flow past side-by-side microcylinders

Viscoelastic flows through microscale porous arrays exhibit complex path-selection and switching phenomena. However, understanding this process is limited by a lack of studies linking between a single object and large arrays. Here, we report experiments on viscoelastic flow past side-by-side microcylinders with variable intercylinder gap. With increasing flow rate, a sequence of two imperfect symmetry-breaking bifurcations forces selection of either one or two of the three possible flow paths around the cylinders. Tuning the gap length through the value where the first bifurcation becomes perfect reveals regions of bi and tristability in a dimensionless flow rate-gap length `phase' diagram.