We present planforms of line plumes formed on horizontal surfaces in turbulent convection, along with the length of line plumes measured from these planforms, in a six decade range of Rayleigh numbers (10 5 < Ra < 10 11 ) and at three Prandtl numbers (Pr = 0.7, 5.2, 602). Using geometric constraints on the relations for the mean plume spacings, we obtain expressions for the total length of near-wall plumes on horizontal surfaces in turbulent convection. The plume length per unit area (L p /A), made dimensionless by the near-wall length scale in turbulent convection (Z w ), remains constant for a given fluid. The Nusselt number is shown to be directly proportional to L p H/A for a given fluid layer of height H. The increase in Pr has a weak influence in decreasing L p /A. These expressions match the measurements, thereby showing that the assumption of laminar natural convection boundary layers in turbulent convection is consistent with the observed total length of line plumes. We then show that similar relationships are obtained based on the assumption that the line plumes are the outcome of the instability of laminar natural convection boundary layers on the horizontal surfaces.

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Thermal convective air flows are of great relevance in fundamental studies and technical applications such as heat exchangers or indoor ventilation. Since these kinds of flow are driven by temperature gradients, simultaneous measurements of instantaneous velocity and temperature fields are highly desirable. A possible solution is the combination of particle image velocimetry (PIV) and particle image thermography (PIT) using thermochromic liquid crystals (TLCs) as tracer particles. While combined PIV and PIT is already state of the art for measurements in liquids, this is not yet the case for gas flows. In this study we address the adaptation of the measuring technique to gaseous fluids with respect to the generation of the tracer particles, the particle illumination and the image filtering process. Results of the simultaneous PIV/PIT stemming from application to a fluid system with continuous air exchange are presented. The measurements were conducted in a cuboidal convection sample with air in- and outlet at a Rayleigh number Ra ≈ 9.0 × 107. They prove the feasibility of the method by providing absolute and relative temperature accuracies of σT = 0.19 K and σΔT = 0.06 K, respectively. Further open issues that have to be addressed in order to mature the technique are identified.

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