  We show that, at low inertia and large elasticity, shell models of
viscoelastic fluids develop a chaotic behaviour with properties similar to
those of elastic turbulence. The low dimensionality of shell models allows us
to explore a wide range both in polymer concentration and in Weissenberg
number. Our results demonstrate that the physical mechanisms at the origin of
elastic turbulence do not rely on the boundary conditions or on the geometry of
the mean flow.

Fluid Dynamics