Derivative moments in turbulent shear flows

Abstract

We propose a generalized perspective on the behavior of high-order derivative moments in turbulent shear flows by taking account of the roles of small-scale intermittency and mean shear, in addition to the Reynolds number. Two asymptotic regimes are discussed with respect to shear effects. By these means, some existing disagreements on the Reynolds number dependence of derivative moments can be explained. That odd-order moments of transverse velocity derivatives tend not to vanish as expected from elementary scaling considerations does not necessarily imply that small-scale anisotropy persists at all Reynolds numbers.