INTERMITTENCY IN HYDRODYNAMIC TURBULENCE AS INTERMEDIATE ASYMPTOTICS TO KOLMOGOROV SCALING

A physical interpretation of a recent Navier-Stokes based theory for scaling in developed hydrodynamic turbulence is presented. It is proposed that corrections to the normal Kolmogorov scaling behavior of the nth order velocity structure functions are finite Reynolds number effects which disappear when the inertial interval exceeds 5-6 decades. These corrections originate from the correlation between the velocity differences and energy dissipation which are characterized by an anomalous (subcritical) exponent. The values of the experimentally observed scaling indices for the nth order structure functions for n between 4 and 14 are in agreement with our findings. © 1995 The American Physical Society.