ABSTRACT
A high-speed particle image velocimetry study was conducted to find the mean and turbulent properties of an inertial particle plume in an unstratified ambient. The experiments were conducted in a 2.0 m by 1.0 m by 1.5 m deep tank with 2.0 mm particles driving the negatively buoyant plume. The experiments show the plumes to have similar time averaged nondimensional velocity and vorticity profiles within the measured flow rates. Furthermore, the nondimensional turbulent stresses are also similar. The turbulence of the inertial particle plumes was also found by the identification and quantification of the vortices in the plumes. As with the velocity profiles and turbulent stresses, similarity existed across the measured flow rates for the vortex properties. Lastly, the turbulent energy spectra shows a modification to the dissipation of the turbulent energy as the slope is of the spectra is changed from −5/3 to −7/6 as found in bubbly flows.
