Nonlocal interactions versus viscosity in turbulence

Abstract

It is shown that nonlocal interactions determine energy spectrum in isotropic turbulence at small Reynolds numbers. It is also shown that for moderate Reynolds numbers the bottleneck effect is determined by the same nonlocal interactions. Role of the large and small scales covariance at the nonlocal interactions and in energy balance has been investigated. A possible hydrodynamic mechanism of the nonlocal solution instability at large scales has been briefly discussed. A quantitative relationship between effective strain of the nonlocal interactions and viscosity has been found. All results are supported by comparison with the data of experiments and numerical simulations.