Polymer stretching in laminar and random flows: Entropic characterization

The configuration of a polymer in a moving fluid changes drastically from coiled to stretched when the velocity gradient exceeds a critical value. This phenomenon, known as the coil-stretch transition, has been characterized by examining the entropy of the polymer extension. We extend this approach to a set of laminar and random flows that are regarded as benchmarks for the study of polymer stretching. The entropy of the polymer fractional...