Sedimenting elastic filaments in turbulent flows

Abstract

Transport of sediments via turbulent flows is common in nature and industry. We find that long deformable fibers transported by turbulent flows settle faster under the action of gravity than when in a still fluid. The settling statistics are surprisingly unaffected by the fiber's ability to deform and depend only on its weight. Complementarily, the tumbling dynamics of the sedimenting fiber is governed solely by its elasticity.