Interaction of a buoyant plume with a turbulent canopy mixing layer

Abstract

Buoyant convective plumes have a strong impact on the behavior and spread of wildfires. This experimental study investigates the role of turbulent coherent structures rising from canopy mixing layers on the trajectory and behavior of buoyant plumes. The turbulent structures give rise to unsteady behavior of the buoyant plume that is observed as strong vertical oscillatory motions. This oscillatory motion is found to fluctuate at the dominant frequency of the canopy-induced instability. The analysis also looks at mixing and transport rates through the impacted plume.