Chaotic rotation of triaxial ellipsoids in simple shear flow

Chaotic behaviour is found for sufficiently long triaxial ellipsoidal non-Brownian particles immersed in steady simple shear flow of a Newtonian fluid in an inertialess approximation. The result is first determined via numerical simulations. An analytic theory explaining the onset of chaotic rotation is then proposed. The chaotic rotation coexists with periodic and quasi-periodic motions. Quasi-periodic motions are depicted by regular closed loops and islands in the system Poincare map, whereas chaotic rotations form a stochastic layer.