Unstable Process Identification in a Pure Thermal Plume under Forced Rotating Conditions

A pure thermal plume development arising from a finite-size rotating heat source was analyzed experimentally. Qualitative investigation through extensive visualization has brought into focus the existence of a threshold rotation frequency (i.e., a swirl number) above which stretching effects are strengthened, thereby forcing the ascending plume motion to spiral around the geometrical axis heat source. Nevertheless, above the threshold frequency (i.e., above the swirl number), unstable processes appear through flow field pulsation in close proximity to the heat source; the pulsations literally beat and drive the flow field vicinity. From a strictly quantitative point of view, the data underscore the fact that heat source rotation presents two opposed trends. Below the threshold frequency, the higher the frequency, the more the temperature level is concentrated on the plume axis. In contrast, at the strongest rotation frequencies studied, the opposite is observed. Above the threshold rotating frequency, the characteristic rotating time scale appears to be too short to interact with the characteristic plume time scale. As a consequence, rotation of the heat source enhances transition from laminar to turbulence.