Structure functions and energy dissipation dependence on Reynolds number

The dependence of the statistics of energy dissipation on the Reynolds number is investigated in an experimental jet flow. In a range of about one decade of Re-lambda (from about 200 to 2000) the adimensional mean energy dissipation is found to be independent on Re-lambda, while the higher moments of dissipation show a power-law dependence. The scaling exponents are found to be consistent with a simple prediction based on the multifractal model for inertial range structure functions. This is an experimental confirmation of the connection between inertial range quantities and dissipation statistics predicted by the multifractal approach. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.