On pre-dissipative ‘bumps' and a Reynolds-number-dependent spectral parameterization of turbulence

Considerable experimental, numerical and theoretical evidence has accumulated during the last two decades for the presence of a maximum above the right end of the inertial plateau in compensated high-Reynolds-number turbulence spectra k^+5/3E(k). This energy pileup, due to the reduced nonlocal triadic interactions near the viscous cut-off, complies with Kolmogorov's 1941 theory but hampers experimental interpretation about its intermittency corrections. It has been included in a semi-empirical Reynolds-number-dependent complete (i.e. from the largest to the smallest scales) spectral model of isotropic turbulence. This simple parameterization is shown to represent satisfactorily well experimental data over a large variety of situations.