The motion of fibres in turbulent flow

Abstract

Equations of mean and fluctuating velocities in rotation and translation have been derived for rigid thin inertialess fibres moving in a turbulent fluid. The derived equations for mean motion are general to fluid velocities that vary nonlinearly along the length of the fibre. From the equations of fluctuating fibre velocity, rotational and translational dispersion coefficients were derived. The resulting dispersion coefficients were shown to decrease as the ratio of fibre length to Lagrangian integral length scale of the turbulence increased.