Structure functions of quasi-two-dimensional turbulence in a laboratory experiment

The results of experiments for turbulent flows in a thin layer of conducting fluid above a solid surface generated by the Ampere force when passing a current and under the action of a spatially periodic magnetic field are considered. The statistical characteristics of the flows are shown to exhibit three-dimensional (3D) dynamics even on horizontal scales exceeding the layer thickness by an order of magnitude. In this case, the third-order longitudinal structure functions of the velocity field are approximately linear in spatial displacement and negative, as in 3D turbulence, due to the dominant contribution of energy dissipation when the boundary condition for adhesion on the lower surface is met. The dissipation and basic energy production terms are estimated for the energy balance equation.