Lagrangian time scale of rotation for inertial fibers in isotropic turbulence

Abstract

Using time-resolved measurements of the orientation of rigid inertial fibers in a turbulence-tank, we investigate the autocorrelation of their tumbling rate. The correlation time ($\tau_d$) is well predicted by Kolmogorov inertial-range scaling based on the fiber length (L) when the fiber inertia can be neglected. For inertial fibers, we propose a simple model considering fiber inertia (measured by a tumbling Stokes number) and a viscous torque which accurately predicts both the correlation time and the variance of the tumbling rate.