Multifractal Analysis of Line-Source Plume Concentration Fluctuations in Surface-Layer Flows

Abstract

A codimension multifractal methodology was used to analyze and to model scalar concentration fluctuations within sulfur hexafluoride tracer gas plumes from a line source in atmospheric surface-layer flows. Correspondence was exhibited between the double trace moments parameters α and C1 of the codimension methodology and the experimentally measured plume concentration characteristics of peak-to-mean ratio and concentration fluctuation intensity. Data series were generated using an extremal Levy, stochastic multifractal model, with the experimental α and C1 as inputs. Uncertainties in experimentally determined plume characteristic values overlapped the uncertainties in model-simulated values. The utility of the procedure includes 1) characterizing the state of scalar turbulent mixing, 2) helping to evaluate and to model hazardous plume concentrations, and 3) being able to estimate the probability of realizing extreme events at timescales of observation beyond or at magnitudes in excess of those present in the actual observations.