We present a spatially and temporally highly resolved flow measurement covering a large volume (~0.6 m³) in a pure thermal plume in air. The thermal plume develops above an extended heat source and is characterized by moderate velocities (U ~ 0.35 m/s) with a Reynolds number of Re ∼ 500 and a Rayleigh number of Ra ∼ 10 ⁶. We demonstrate the requirements and capabilities of the measurement equipment and the particle tracking approach to be able to probe measurement volumes up to and beyond one cubic meter. The use of large tracer particles (300 μm), helium-filled soap bubbles (HFSBs), is crucial and yields high particle image quality over large-volume depths when illuminated with arrays of pulsed high-power LEDs. The experimental limitations of the HFSBs—their limited lifetime and their intensity loss over time—are quantified. The HFSBs’ uniform particle images allows an accurate reconstruction of the flow using Shake-The-Box particle tracking with high particle concentrations up to 0.1 particles per pixel. This enables tracking of up to 275,000 HFSBs simultaneously. After interpolating the scattered data onto a regular grid with a Navier–Stokes regularization, the velocity field of the thermal plume reveals a multitude of vortices with a smooth temporal evolution and a remarkable coherence in time (see animation, supplementary data). Acceleration fields are also derived from interpolated particle tracks and complement the flow measurement. Additionally, the flow map, the basis of a large class of Lagrangian coherent structures, is computed directly from observed particle tracks. We show entrainment regions and coherent vortices of the thermal plume in the flow map and compute fields of the finite-time Lyapunov exponent.

We present results from two large-volume volumetric flow experiments. The first of these, investigating a thermal plume at low velocities (up to 0.35 m/s) demonstrates the abilities and requirements to reach volume sizes up to and probably beyond one cubic meter. It is shown that the use of Helium filled soap bubbles (HFSBs) as tracers, combined with pulsed LED illumination yields high particle image quality over large volume depths. A very uniform particle imaging, both in space as well as in time enables using high particle image concentrations (up to 0.1 ppp), while still being able to accurately reconstruct the flow using Shake-The-Box particle tracking. The experiment consisted of time-resolved volumetric flow measurements of a convectional plume within a volume of approx. 0.55 m3 (550 liters). The light yield needed for such a large scale measurement is realized by using HFSBs with 300 !m diameter as tracers and illuminating the measurement region using high-power, scalable arrays of white LEDs. Applying the Shake-The-Box algorithm, up to 275,000 bubbles could be tracked simultaneously. Interpolating the results on a regular grid (using ‘FlowFit’) reveals a multitude of flow structures. The setup can be scaled to larger volumes of several cubic meters, basically only being limited by the number and power of available LEDs and high-resolution cameras with sufficient frame-rate and pixel sizes. A second experiment showcases the possibilities to reach higher flow velocities, while still measuring within a comparatively large volume, by applying high-speed imaging and advanced LED illumination. An impinging turbulent jet was investigated in volumes ranging from 13 to 47 liters, depending on the repetition rate of the camera system. The results show that even at a repetition rate of 3.9 kHz and flow speeds up to 17 m/s the tested system was able to deliver images that allowed for a reliable and accurate tracking of bubbles.