Unsteady axial mixing by natural convection in a vertical column

Abstract Unsteady axial mixing due to addition of a batch of sodium chloride solution at the top of a water‐filled tube (2.63 cm i.d.) has been studied by measuring the developing concentration profile and the advancing front with dye added to the brine. Data have also been obtained with added baffle plates, with the use of a viscous aqueous solution, and in smaller diameter (1.48, 1.91 cm) tubes. Results can be approximately correlated by means of a model based on unsteady one‐dimensional turbulent dispersion. Laminar flow affects the behavior of the advancing front at which the salt concentration is lowest.