Inverse structure functions of temperature in grid-generated turbulence

Jensen [Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 76 (1999)] proposed a new technique to study the scaling behavior of turbulent velocity fields. Inverse structure functions-defined as average moments of distances (or times) corresponding to a specified difference of a turbulent quantity-were used to investigate the intermittency of the turbulent velocity field. The present Brief Communication employs inverse structure functions to study the behavior of a passive scalar (temperature) in high-Reynolds-number grid-generated turbulence. It is shown that the scaling exponents of inverse structure functions of temperature are significantly different than those of the longitudinal and transverse velocity. Such a result is attributed to the higher level of intermittency associated with passive scalar fields. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.