Project Grant 2231781

This three-year $250,001 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems will support research at the University of California, Berkeley correlating large-scale visual structures in buoyant and momentum-driven plumes to entrainment mechanisms. Laboratory experiments and direct numerical simulations will identify and quantify features comprising the external structure of industrial and natural plumes from video or photographic recordings to remotely determine source conditions. Mechanisms of mixing and entrainment at the plume-ambient interface will also be investigated. The research aims to enhance the ability to determine source conditions during plume-driven phenomena like volcanic eruptions and improve transport models. It will support graduate student and undergraduate researcher training, as well as outreach workshops. Funded under the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), the award reflects the agency's mission to improve engineering research and education quality and economic strength.