title: Flexible fiber in a turbulent flow: a macroscopic polymer.
abstract: We describe, for the first time, an experiment devoted to the study of the spatial conformation of a flexible fiber in a turbulent flow. We propose a model for the transition from rigid to flexible regimes as the intensity of turbulence is increased or the elastic energy of the fiber is decreased. This transition occurs for a fiber typical length which is observed experimentally and recovered by our analysis. We also demonstrate that the conformations of flexible fibers in a turbulent flow are analog to conformations of flexible polymers in a good solvent. This last result opens some new and creative ways to model flexible fiber distortions in turbulent flows while addressing fundamental problems in polymer dynamics.
authors.affiliation: IRPHE-UMR 7342, CNRS, Aix Marseille Université, Centrale Marseille 49 Rue F. Joliot Curie, 13384 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brouzet
authors.affiliation: IRPHE-UMR 7342, CNRS, Aix Marseille Université, Centrale Marseille 49 Rue F. Joliot Curie, 13384 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Verhille
authors.affiliation: IRPHE-UMR 7342, CNRS, Aix Marseille Université, Centrale Marseille 49 Rue F. Joliot Curie, 13384 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Le Gal