Unification Of Non-Dimensional Solutions To Asymptotic Equations For Plumes Of Different Shape

A model of buoyant fluid rise is developed in aLagrangian framework. Results from the model arevalidated by comparison with laboratory and fieldexperiments. The model is sufficiently general toinclude geometries of any cross-sectional shape. Exact solutions to the asymptotic equations forcontinuous discharges from line and point sources andfor an instantaneous discharge from a point source areconsidered. Prismatic, cylindrical andspherical shapes approximate these three geometries,respectively. Accommodation of these shapes withinthe same general model allows for direct comparison. It is shown that, for discharges into a cross-flowthat may be stratified or unstratified, thenon-dimensional trajectory, thickness and dilution canbe uniquely specified using three parameters. Theseare the non-dimensional size of the source, therelative importance of the initial fluxes of momentumand buoyancy and the number of orthogonal axes throughwhich entrainment can occur. Such non-dimensionalresults are particularly useful for examining thosescenarios for which there are limited experimentaldata.