Velocity measurements of a bench scale buoyant plume applying particle image velocimetry

Time-averaged velocity fields are presented together with the according measurement uncertainty that results from the evaluation with particle image velocimetry. Based on these velocity fields a number of characteristic values for the plume is derived in different heights, e.g. maximum velocities, plume widths and flow integrals. In order to further evaluate the transition from laminar to turbulent flow the vertical velocity and the standard deviation of the horizontal velocity along the plume axis and as a function of the Grashof number are investigated. The transition occurs at Grashof numbers in the range 4×108