Instantaneous velocity profiles across a time-steady, two-phase, air-water bubble plume in stagnant water

Liquid velocity fluctuations inside a two-phase, air-water bubble plume have been measured in a laboratory water tank. This simple flow serves as an analogue to subsea oil/gas blowout plumes; ignoring chemical transformation of oil/gas droplets under subsea conditions the fluid mechanical aspects of a plume generated by rising bubbles of air or oil are similar. Obtained data can be used to perform a turbulent kinetic energy budget across the plume that will enhance the understanding of flow physics and therefore aid the development of predictive numerical models. Such models are important to disaster management during oil spill events. These experiments were carried out inside the Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory at Texas A&M University between April and June, 2015.