Energy balance measurements in an axisymmetric turbulent buoyant plume in a neutral environment.

Velocity and temperature fields were measured in an axisymmetric turbulent buoyant plume using a three wire probe. The ambient temperature was monitored using thermocouples placed at different heights to make sure that it was not stratified. Source conditions were also monitored so as to ascertain the rate at which buoyancy was added to the flow. The axisymmetry of the flow was checked using a plane array of sixteen thermocouples. The measurements satisfy both the integral and differential forms of the mean energy and momentum equations to within experimental error. The rates of thermal and mechanical energy dissipation were obtained as the closing terms in balances of the turbulence kinetic energy and temperature variance equations.