Mixing Structure of Plane Self-Preserving Buoyant Turbulent Plumes
Measurements of the structure of plane buoyant turbulent plumes are described, emphasizing conditions in the fully developed (self-preserving) portion of the flow. Plumes were simulated using helium/air sources in a still and unstratified air environment. Mean and fluctuating mixture fractions were measured using laser-induced iodine fluorescence. Present measurements extended farther from the source (up to 155 source widths) and had more accurate specifications of plume buoyancy fluxes than past measurements and yielded narrower plume widths and different scaled mean and fluctuating mixture fractions near the plane of symmetry than previously thought. Measurements of probability density functions, temporal power spectra, and temporal integral scales of mixture fraction fluctuations are also reported.