9312398 Tong The research described in this project will utilize laser light scattering techniques to study statistical properties of the local velocity, the relative velocity and the local vorticity fields of turbulent Rayleigh-Benard (RB) convection in water. The experiments will aim at finding and testing scaling laws if velocity and vorticity statistics over varying Rayleigh numbers and length scales in the turbulent core region and near thermal and viscous boundary layers. Special attention will be given to the intermittent nature of velocity fluctuations and to correlations between coherent structure and the probability density functions for the velocities and the vorticity. The project will provide a body of reliable data to test current theories for turbulent RB convection. The velocity and vorticity measurements will complement a wealth of temperature measurements. %%% This project will utilize laser light scattering techniques to study statistical properties of turbulent motion in thermal convection. The project is of fundamental interest for understanding the basic statistical properties of thermal turbulence, and it is also relevant to many technological applications for effective heat transfer. Understanding heat transport phenomena in turbulent convection can shed new light on the subject potentially lead to technological improvements in various industrial applications ranging from heat exchanges in nuclear reactors to reentry vehicles. ***
