Geometric percolation in polydisperse systems of finite-diameter rods: Effects due to particle clustering and inter-particle correlations

The impact of particle clustering and correlation upon the percolation behavior of polydisperse cylinders with finite hard core diameter is examined within an analogy to a lattice percolation problem. Percolation thresholds and percolation and backbone probabilities are explored as functions of the degree of clustering and extent of correlation among the inter-particle contacts. The percolation threshold and volume fractions occupied by the infinite network and by the cluster backbone are shown to be quite sensitive to the formation of inter-connected cliques of particles and to the presence of correlation among particle contacts.