Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

A Second-Order Closure Model for the Effect of Averaging Time on Turbulent Plume Dispersion

R. I. Sykes ARAP Group, Titan Research and Technology, Princeton, New Jersey

Search for other papers by R. I. Sykes in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
and
R. S. Gabruk ARAP Group, Titan Research and Technology, Princeton, New Jersey

Search for other papers by R. S. Gabruk in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Print Publication:
01 Aug 1997
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1997)036<1038:ASOCMF>2.0.CO;2
Page(s):
1038–1045
Restricted access

Abstract

A practical model for the effect of averaging time on the turbulent dispersion of a continuous plume is presented. The model is based on a second-order turbulence closure scheme, but is applied to the integrated spatial moments of the plume to provide a Gaussian spread prediction. Velocity fluctuation variances are used directly by the closure model to predict the dispersion, and are partitioned into meandering and diffusive scales based on the instantaneous spread of the plume. Finite time averaging is represented by a simple estimate of the turbulent energy spectrum. The model is compared with short-duration atmospheric measurements for dispersing clouds.

Corresponding author address: Dr. R. I. Sykes, ARAP Group, Titan Research and Technology, 50 Washington Road, P.O. Box 2229, Princeton, NJ 08543-2229.

Abstract

A practical model for the effect of averaging time on the turbulent dispersion of a continuous plume is presented. The model is based on a second-order turbulence closure scheme, but is applied to the integrated spatial moments of the plume to provide a Gaussian spread prediction. Velocity fluctuation variances are used directly by the closure model to predict the dispersion, and are partitioned into meandering and diffusive scales based on the instantaneous spread of the plume. Finite time averaging is represented by a simple estimate of the turbulent energy spectrum. The model is compared with short-duration atmospheric measurements for dispersing clouds.

Corresponding author address: Dr. R. I. Sykes, ARAP Group, Titan Research and Technology, 50 Washington Road, P.O. Box 2229, Princeton, NJ 08543-2229.

Save
Cover Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology
Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

  • Batchelor, G. K., 1950: The application of the similarity theory of turbulence to atmospheric diffusion. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,76, 133–146.

  • Brier, G. W., 1950: The statistical theory of turbulence and the problem of diffusion in the atmosphere. J. Meteor.,7, 283–290.

  • Deardorff, J. W., 1970: Convective velocity and temperature scales for the unstable planetary boundary layer and for Rayleigh convection. J. Atmos. Sci.,27, 1211–1213.

  • Eckman, R. M., 1994: Influence of the sampling time on the kinematics of turbulent diffusion from a continuous source. J. Fluid Mech.,270, 349–375.

  • Fackrell, J. E., and A. G. Robins, 1982: The effects of source size on concentration fluctuations in plumes. Bound.-Layer Meteor.,22, 335–350.

  • Georgopoulos, P. G., and J. H. Seinfeld, 1988: Estimation of relative dispersion parameters from atmospheric spectra. Atmos. Environ.,22, 31–41.

  • Gifford, F. A., 1959: Statistical properties of a fluctuating plume dispersal model. Advances in Geophysics, Vol. 6. Academic Press, 117–137.

  • Högström, U., 1964: An experimental study on atmospheric diffusion. Tellus,16, 205–251.

  • Lewellen, W. S., 1977: Use of invariant modeling. Handbook of Turbulence, W. Frost and T. H. Moulden, Eds., Plenum Press, 237–280.

  • Lumley, J. L., 1967: Theoretical aspects of research on turbulence in stratified flows. Proc. Int. Colloquium Atmospheric Turbulence and Radio Wave Propagation, Nauka, Moscow, 105–110.

  • Mikkelsen, T., S. E. Larsen, and H. L. Pécseli, 1987: Diffusion of Gaussian puffs. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,113, 81–105.

  • Sawford, B. L., 1982: Comparison of some different approximations in the statistical theory of relative dispersion. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,108, 191–206.

  • Slade, D. H., Ed., 1968: Meteorology and Atomic Energy. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Office of Information Services, 445 pp.

  • Smith, F. B., and J. S. Hay, 1961: The expansion of clusters of particles in the atmosphere. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,87, 82–101.

  • Stern, A. C., R. W. Boubel, D. B. Turner, and D. L. Fox, 1984: Fundamentals of Air Pollution. 2d ed. Academic Press, 544 pp.

  • Sykes, R. I., W. S. Lewellen, and S. F. Parker, 1986: A Gaussian plume model of atmospheric dispersion based on second-order closure. J. Climate Appl. Meteor.,25, 322–331.

  • Townsend, A. A., 1976: The Structure of Turbulent Shear Flow. Cambridge University Press, 438 pp.

  • Weil, J. C., R. P. Lawson, and A. R. Rodi, 1993: Relative dispersion of ice crystals in seeded cumuli. J. Appl. Meteor.,32, 1055–1073.

  • Wyngaard, J. C., and O. R. Coté, 1972: Cospectral similarity in the atmospheric surface layer. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc.,98, 590–603.

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 367 79 6
PDF Downloads 176 53 3