THERMAL PLUMES.

In this review, attention is largely focused on single-phase plumes rising due to thermal buoyancy in a gravitational field. The idealized circumstance of plumes generated by point or line thermal sources has been studied extensively and the basic similarity formulation and the results obtained are discussed. Both analytical and experimental studies are outlined. Wall plumes arising from thermal sources located on surfaces are of interest in fires and in electronic circuitry cooling. The work done on this problem is discussed. The wake due to a finite-sized heat source and the associated phenomenon of separation in natural convection is also considered. This lecture discusses turbulence modelling of the flow. Integral methods for the analysis of the flow are also considered. The relevance of these studies to practical circumstances is outlined.