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  • Open Access

Angular Velocity of Kolmogorov-Scale Fibers as Proxy for Turbulent Dissipation

Domenico Zaza1,2, Vlad Giurgiu1, Michele Iovieno3, and Alfredo Soldati1,2,*

  • *Contact author: alfredo.soldati@tuwien.ac.at
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 054001 – Published 3 February, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/kcmw-5dph

Abstract

We introduce a fiber-based method to directly measure turbulent energy dissipation. Combining original measurements of the full-body rotation—tumbling and spinning—of short, Kolmogorov-scale fibers in turbulent channel flow with direct numerical simulations using a point-fiber model, we show that the mean-square angular velocity closely reproduces the mean dissipation rate. The method is accurate both in the nearly homogeneous turbulence of the channel center and in the logarithmic layer, with a mean deviation below 6%, demonstrating that Kolmogorov-scale fibers provide a robust and reliable tool for quantifying dissipation.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 054001– Published 3 February, 2026
  • Received 28 October 2025
  • Accepted 2 January 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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