Concentration Field Measurements Within Isolated Turbulent Puffs

The structure of passive scalar concentration field within isolated turbulent puffs was measured using the planar laser Mie scattering technique. Puffs were generated by injecting seeded air through a 5-mm-diameter nozzle into a chamber with a weak air co-flow. The injection time and volume was varied by the use of a fast-response solenoid valve. Puffs were examined in the range of 25–55 diameters downstream of the nozzle. The Reynolds number based on the average velocity and nozzle diameter was 5000. The results indicate that as the injection volume increases, puffs evolve from a spherical geometry to that with a tail. The half-width of radial concentration profiles through the puff center decrease as the injection volume increases. On the other hand, the puff length in the axial direction increases with the injection volume. The volume of ambient fluid entrained by the puff, and normalized by the injected volume, decreases with increasing injection volume.