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Analytical solutions and virtual origin corrections for forced, pure and lazy turbulent plumes based on a universal entrainment function

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2020

F. Ciriello
Affiliation:
Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Trumpington St., CambridgeCB2 1PZ, UK
G. R. Hunt*
Affiliation:
Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Trumpington St., CambridgeCB2 1PZ, UK
*
Email address for correspondence: gary.hunt@eng.cam.ac.uk

Abstract

Previous measurements and numerical simulations of buoyant turbulent plumes that develop from area sources provide convincing evidence that entrainment varies locally in response to an imbalance from the asymptotic state of equilibrium, a state referred to as a pure plume. Across the wide spectrum of possible source conditions, that span forced and lazy plume releases, this variation of entrainment has been successfully captured by a single, or universal, description in which the entrainment function $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}$ varies linearly with the local Richardson number. Herein, an analytical solution for the virtual origin of forced, pure and lazy turbulent plumes from circular sources in unstratified environments is derived based on this universal description of entrainment. Prior to this, the analytical solutions reported were limited to those based on the simplifying assumption of invariant entrainment, so-called constant-$\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}$ solutions of the plume conservation equations. Analytical solutions for the fluxes of volume and specific momentum are first developed. These solutions highlight the deficit in near-field entrainment in forced plumes and enable the general imbalance from the equilibrium state to be predicted via the streamwise variation of the local Richardson number. Focus then turns to the virtual origin due to the practical benefits that a knowledge of this location offers experimentalists (e.g. in comparing measurement with theory) and theoretical modellers (e.g. in incorporating a turbulent plume within a broader modelling framework).

Information

Type
JFM Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020
Figure 0

Table 1. Values for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}_{1}$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}_{2}$ in axisymmetric plumes. Entries for the pure-plume entrainment coefficient $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}_{p}$ are given. The letters P, J, F and L are indicative of plume behaviour in each study. P indicates a pure plume, J a pure jet, F a forced plume and L a lazy plume. Hereafter, we take the average values listed. LDV (laser-Doppler velocimetry). PIV (particle image velocimetry).

Figure 1

Figure 1. (a) Values of $\mathscr{F}/\mathscr{F}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}}$ versus $\unicode[STIX]{x1D701}$ and (b) $\mathscr{G}_{2}/\mathscr{G}_{1}$ versus $\unicode[STIX]{x1D701}$ for different values of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{0}$.

Figure 2

Figure 2. Values of $q$ (ac), $m$ (df) and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}(\unicode[STIX]{x1D701})$ (gi) versus $\unicode[STIX]{x1D701}$ for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{0}=\{0.001,1,1000\}$, highlighting differences between the analytical solutions for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=\text{constant}$ (solid red lines -) from Hunt & Kaye (2005), and for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}_{1}+\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}_{2}Ri$ (solid blue lines -) from (2.29), (2.26) and (2.33) (top-hat, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}=1$). Corresponding dashed lines show approximate solutions based on the virtual origin corrections given by Hunt & Kaye (2001, dashed red lines - -) and by (2.27, dashed blue lines - -). The $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=$ constant and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}_{1}+\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}_{2}Ri$ solutions overlie for the pure-plume case.

Figure 3

Figure 3. (ac) Value of $z_{avs}$ versus $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{0}$ for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}=1$. Solution for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=\text{constant}$ from Hunt & Kaye (2001, dot-dashed red line --) and for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}_{1}+\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}_{2}Ri$ from ((2.27), blue line -). Markers plotted in (a) show experimental measurements from Hunt & Kaye (2001, ♦), Ezzamel (2011, ▪) and our own PIV measurements of aqueous-saline plumes (§ 3, ●).