Mixing of high speed coaxial jets

In this study, five different supersonic nozzles – conical, elliptical, tabbed, radially lobed and two-dimensional lobed – are compared experimentally for their mixing performance. With the background of studies by various groups conducted on the above nozzles, the present paper aims to provide an experimental comparison of their respective mixing performances with that of a conventional conical nozzle under identical operating conditions. The mixing of the supersonic stream coming from such nozzles with a coaxial sonic stream is investigated. The investigation is performed non-intrusively, using digital image processing of planar Mie-scattering images of the flow field. The results of these investigations reveal the superiority of mixing performance of the two-dimensional lobed nozzle over conventional circular and other non-conventional nozzles. Received: 15 July 1999/Accepted: 3 July 2000     

Experimental study on mixing enhancement in two dimensional supersonic flow

 Studies on mixing enhancement with two dimensional (2D) lobed nozzle have been conducted in a dual stream supersonic flow facility. The distributions of momentum flux, stagnation pressure and stagnation temperature across a plane at different axial distances from the nozzle exit were considered as a measure of mixing. The results indicated an enormous enhancement in mixing when 2D lobed nozzle was employed in comparison with conventional plain 2D nozzle. The enhanced mixing performance could be attributed to the large scale axial vortices observed in the flow-field of subsonic lobed nozzles by earlier investigators. Received: 27 December 1996 / Accepted: 21 August 1997     

Studies on freejets from radially lobed nozzles

The freejet characteristics of radially lobed nozzles were studied experimentally. Schlieren photographs of the freejets revealed that the lobes of the nozzles gave rise to alternate expansion-compression regions. For two of the lobed nozzles the potential core was reduced by a factor of three relative to the conical nozzle tested. The jet spread and the shear layer thickness of the lobed nozzles were considerably higher than those for the conical nozzle. The jet width and the shear layer thickness were higher in the major plane; however, the shear layer growth rate was higher in the minor plane of the lobed nozzles. Jet axial thrust measurements revealed a thrust loss of 14% for two of the lobed nozzles tested.     

Vortex dynamics and mass entrainment in turbulent lobed jets with and without lobe deflection angles

Passive control of jet flows in order to enhance mixing and entrainment is of wide applicative interest. Our purpose is to develop new air diffusers for HVAC systems, by using lobed geometry nozzles, in order to ameliorate users the thermal comfort. Two turbulent 6-lobed air jets with and without lobe deflection angles were studied experimentally and compared with a reference circular jet having the same initial Reynolds number. The main objective was to analyze the modifications occurring in the vortex dynamics of the flow, firstly by replacing a circular tube with a straight lobed tube, and secondly by a lobed tube having a double inclination of the lobes. Rapid visualizations of the flows and hot-wire measurements of the streamwise velocity spectra allow understanding the vortex roll-up mechanisms. Unlike the circular jet, where the primary rings are continuous, the Kelvin–Helmholtz vortices in the lobed jet flows were found to be discontinuous. The resulting “ring segments” detach at different frequencies whether they are shed in the lobe troughs or at the lobe sides. One explanation relies on the strong variation of the exit plane curvature. Additionally, a speculative scenario of the vortical dynamics is advanced by the authors. The discontinuous nature of the K–H vortices enables the development of secondary streamwise structures, non-influenced by the passage of the primary structures as in the case of the circular jet. Thus, the momentum flux transport role played by the streamwise structures is rendered more efficient and leads to a spectacular increase in the entrainment rate in the initial region. The amount of fluid being entrained in the lobed jet by the streamwise structures is drastically amplified by the double inclination of the nozzle exit boundary.     

A numerical study of turbulent opposed impinging jets issuing from triangular nozzles with different geometries

In present research, two turbulent opposed impinging air jets issuing from triangular nozzles with fixed and variable exit velocity ratios and different nozzle-to-nozzle distances have been studied numerically and then compared with rectangular and circular nozzles. The finite volume method has been applied for solving mass and momentum equations. The turbulence model being used here is k-ε RNG. Distributions of pressure, turbulence, kinetic energy and its dissipation rate in various regions especially on the impingement regions have been obtained with high accuracy. Study of the nozzle geometries has shown the advantage of triangular nozzles over other geometries. First, the triangle’s base in nozzle geometry has an important role in our study case which, mixing two flows and regions with high turbulence intensity, directly depends on it. Second, our results show that circular and rectangular nozzles have less efficiency than triangular nozzles in mixing applications. Third and last, it was found that the radial jet being created by opposed jets has some similarities to free jets. In this investigation, air in standard atmospheric pressure has been applied as working fluid.     

Effect of the Streamwise Component of the Vorticity Formed in a Turbulent Jet Source on the Acoustic Characteristics of the Jet

The results of an experimental study of the effects of different nozzle heads on turbulent jet noise are analyzed. A configuration of four cylindrical heads, tabbed heads, and chevron nozzles are considered and the decreases in the acoustic-mechanical efficiency of the jet (acoustic power reduction) for jets exposed to different modes of action are compared.It is shown that the effects of tabbed and cylindrical heads, as well as of chevrons, share a common property which is associated with the occurrence of vorticity in the jet source and can be described on the basis of a unified criterion characterizing the action on both the jet flow structure and the jet noise.     

Experimental investigation of the effect of cross wire on the flow field of elliptic jet

The effectiveness of cross wire in controlling the mixing characteristics of a circular and an equivalent elliptic jet is investigated experimentally. While circular jets are conventional, elliptic jets have gained attention due to their better mixing characteristics and faster decay. To further explore and augment the capabilities of elliptic jets for practical utility, it is investigated whether using an elliptic jet with cross wire control gives additional benefit in terms of mixing enhancement over an axisymmetric jet. Experiments are performed for subsonic and choked flow conditions with nozzle pressure ratios ranging from $1.2$ to $7.0$. Time-averaged pitot pressures and schlieren visualization is used for diagnosis. The jet bifurcation can be seen in controlled elliptical jets at all nozzle pressure ratios (NPRs). Core length is reduced to as much as $70\%$ in the elliptical jet and $84\%$ in the case of the circular jet. The core length values estimated from the present data are compared with the previous investigations.     

Large structure convection velocity measurements in compressible transverse injection flowfields

 Temporally correlated Rayleigh/Mie scattering images were used to examine the convection characteristics of the large-scale vortex structures developing in flowfields created by sonic transverse injection through circular and elliptical nozzles into a Mach 1.98 crossflow. Both compressibility and injector geometry were found to have significant influences on the convection characteristics of the large eddies. High compressibility injection cases produce eddies having dramatically larger near-field convection velocities than those in low compressibility cases. Farther downstream, the large-scale vortices tend to travel at velocities nearer the freestream veocity. Injector geometry primarily affects the near-field behavior. Received: 12 December 1995 / Accepted: 19 August 1996     

椭圆截面弹体侵彻砂浆靶规律分析

为研究椭圆截面弹体侵彻混凝土靶规律,基于动态球形空腔膨胀理论,建立椭圆截面弹体侵彻受力模型,计算典型椭圆截面弹体阻力规律和侵彻砂浆靶深度。在此基础上,采用弹道炮发射平台,开展相同质量和长度的2种典型椭圆截面弹体及圆截面弹体垂直侵彻半无限砂浆靶实验。结果表明:理论模型能够反映椭圆截面弹体受力情况,并与实验研究结果吻合较好;椭圆截面弹体长短轴参数的改变对侵彻性能影响较为显著。     

Effect of primary jet geometry on ejector performance: A cold-flow investigation

The following cold-flow study examines the interaction of the diffracted shock wave pattern and the resulting vortex loop emitted from a shock tube of various geometries, with an ejector having a round bell-shaped inlet. The focus of the study is to examine the performance of the ejector when using different jet geometries (primary flow) to entrain secondary flow through the ejector. These include two circular nozzles with internal diameters of 15 mm and 30 mm, two elliptical nozzles with minor to major axis ratios of a/b = 0.4 and 0.6 with b = 30 mm, a square nozzle with side lengths of 30 mm, and two exotic nozzles resembling a pair of lips with axis ratios of a/b = 0.2 and 0.5 with b = 30 mm. Shock tube driver pressures of P₄ = 4, 8, and 12 bar were studied, with the pressure of the shock tube driven section P₁ being atmospheric. High-speed schlieren photography using the Shimadzu Hypervision camera along with detailed pressure measurements along the ejector and the impulse created by the ejector were conducted.     

Vortex Behaviour and Velocity Characteristics of Jets Issuing from Hybrid Inclined Elliptic Nozzles

An experimental study on elliptic nozzles with hybrid flat- and inclined-sections is reported here. The hybrid flat and inclined sections are imposed along either the major- or minor-plane of the nozzles (HIN?A and B nozzles respectively). For HIN?A, results show prevalent pairings between adjacent vortex filaments and induced vortex-loops in the immediate vicinity of the flat-section to produce coalesced vortex roll-ups. Once they detach entirely from the nozzle, they proceed to undergo flow changes resembling that of conventional elliptic jets. HIN?B also leads to near-field vortex pairings but produce discrete inclined vortex roll-ups instead, with accompanying delay in rib structure formations. The roles of induced vortex-loops are significantly more limited in the present elliptic HIN than circular HIN investigated previously, due to the dominance of elliptic braid vortices. HIN?A produces significantly larger centerline velocity decay, as well as higher turbulence levels in the near vicinity of the nozzle exit. Vectoring of axial jet momentum is more apparent for HIN?B, where cross-stream entrainment is also relatively larger. Half-jet width results also demonstrate that both nozzle types eventually produce elliptic jets that undergo axis-switching. Lastly, momentum thickness results suggest that the present nozzle lip-modifications significantly enhance mixing characteristics along the plane upon which they are imposed in both HIN?A and B.     

Particle image velocimetry investigation on mixing enhancement of non-circular sharp edge nozzles

An experimental study using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) on free jets issuing from different orifice plate (OP) nozzles is reported. Mean velocity, turbulence intensity and higher order profiles relevant for large and small scale mixing are considered in the near field and interaction zone (0 < X/D < 20). This is done to determine mixing enhancement due to rectangular, squared, elliptic and triangular nozzles in comparison to circular nozzle results in two orthogonal planes. The effect of Reynolds number on the differences among the nozzle shapes is also considered by performing measurements just after laminar–turbulent transition (Re = 8000) and in the fully turbulent regime (Re = 35,000). The results at low Reynolds number show two classes of jets, i.e. at one side, those closer to axial-symmetric conditions, as circular, square and triangular jets, whereas on the other side those with elongated nozzles as rectangular and elliptic. The reason for the different behavior of the latter is connected to the phenomenon of axis-switching which allows a rearrangement of turbulence over the different velocity components and directions. However, for the highest Reynolds number investigated, all nozzles show similar behavior especially in the jet far field (X/D > 10), thus suggesting a significant Reynolds number dependence of the results.     

Flow and breakup characteristics of elliptical liquid jets

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on liquid jets discharging from elliptical orifices into still ambient air. The experiments were conducted with a set of elliptical orifices of approximately same area of cross section but varying orifice aspect ratio using water and water–glycerol mixture as experimental fluids. The flow behavior of liquid jets was analyzed using their photographs captured by an imaging system. The measurements obtained for the elliptical liquid jets were compared with the circular liquid jets discharging from a circular orifice of the same area of cross section. Elliptical geometry of the orifice results in a flow process by which the emanating liquid jet periodically switches its major and minor axes as it flows downstream of the orifice. In this paper, we attempt to characterize the axis-switching process through its wavelength and amplitude. For a given elliptical orifice, the axis-switching process is dominantly seen in a particular range of flow conditions. The effects of the orifice aspect ratio and liquid viscosity on the axis-switching process are revealed through this study. The experimental results on jet breakup show that axis-switching process has a destabilizing effect on elliptical liquid jets within a particular range of flow conditions and it results in shorter breakup lengths compared to the circular jet. The extent to which axis-switching destabilizes the jet is dictated by the viscosity of liquid. An increase in orifice aspect ratio destabilizes elliptical liquid jets with low viscosity like water; however, this behavior seems to get obscured in water–glycerol mixture elliptical jets due to high viscosity.     

Flow visualisation studies on growth of area of deflected jets

 Laser light sheet visualisation, coupled with image processing, was utilised to understand the effect of exit geometry on the integral properties of jets in cross flow. The study involved jets emanating from circular and rectangular nozzles of different aspect ratios deflected by a uniform free-stream. The investigation considers incompressible momentum jets with exit Reynolds number in the range of 4400–9200, the velocity ratios being 3.9, 5.9 and 7.8. In contrast to a deflected circular jet, those jets emanating from blunt configurations tend to have higher growth rates initially and are devoid of the horse-shoe or the bound vortex system in their cross section. Received: 30 May 1996 / Accepted: 27 November 1996     

Free and confined jets at low Reynolds numbers

Free jets, and jets with tubular confinements, are investigated in the jet Reynolds number regime 80 Re_j 1000 being of interest for micro-jet pumps, among other applications. For issuing the jets, conventional (single-hole) nozzles as well as dual-hole nozzles of a particular design are used. Both flow visualization and LDA measurement indicate that, in agreement with previous findings, the jets issuing from conventional nozzles remain laminar up to large distances from the orifice. Thus there is but little entrainment of ambient fluid, and the performance of conventional nozzles in micro-jet pumps is rather poor. The dual-hole nozzles, on the other hand, are found to enforce transition to turbulent flow near the orifices. As a result, the entrainment rate is considerably increased, and the performance of jet pumps is improved when the dual-hole nozzles are applied. The experimental data are found to be in fair agreement with predictions based on mass and momentum balances.     

A Digital Particle Image Velocimetry Study on Jets Issuing from Hybrid Inclined Nozzles

Digital particle image velocimetry was used to study hybrid inclined nozzles formed by combining flat- and inclined-sections, where the latter are designed based on the aspect-ratios (AR = 2 and 4) of half-ellipses. Results show that AR2 nozzle exhibits flow behaviour largely similar to inclined nozzles with inclined vortex roll-ups moving away from the nozzle centerline. In contrast, AR4 nozzle leads to significantly more intense near-field flow behaviour caused by the sharper junctions, which prevent similar movement of the vortex roll-ups. Streamwise vortices are also observed to form off the peaks of inclined-sections which produce wider jets-spreads along the inclined-sections due to associated lateral jet fluid ejection, though there is a limit to the jet-spread increment. Lastly, both nozzles produce higher turbulent stress levels over those of the conventional circular nozzle, and vortex roll-up vectoring leads to higher turbulent stresses for the AR2 nozzle along certain measurement planes.     

Analytical and numerical investigation for true and spurious eigensolutions of an elliptical membrane using the real-part dual BIEM/BEM

The paper performs analytical and numerical investigation of the true and spurious eigensolutions of an elliptical membrane using the real-part boundary integral equation method (BIEM) following the successful work on a circular case by using the dual boundary element method (BEM) (Kuo et al. in Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng. 48:1401–1422, 2000). We extend to the elliptical case in this paper. To analytically study the eigenproblems of an elliptical membrane, the elliptical coordinates and Mathieu functions are adopted. The fundamental solution is expanded into the degenerate kernel by using the elliptical coordinates and the boundary densities are expanded by using the eigenfunction expansion. The Jacobian terms may exist in the degenerate kernel, boundary density and boundary contour integration but they can cancel each other out. Therefore, the orthogonal relations are reserved in the boundary contour integral. It is interesting to find that the BIEM using the real or the imaginary-part kernel to deal with an elliptical membrane yields spurious eigensolutions. This finding agrees with those corresponding to the circular case. The spurious eigenvalues in the real-part BIEM are found to be the zeros of the mth-order (even or odd) modified Mathieu functions of the second kind or their derivatives. To verify this finding, the BEM is implemented. Furthermore, the commercial finite-element code ABAQUS is also utilized to provide eigensolutions for comparisons. It is found that good agreement is obtained.     

Experimental investigation of jets from rectangular six-lobed and round orifices at very low Reynolds number

This article presents an experimental study conducted on a six-lobed rectangular jet at a very low Reynolds number of 800. The near-exit flow dynamics is compared to the reference counterpart circular jet with same initial conditions. Flow dynamics is analyzed using time-resolved flow-visualizations, hot-wire anemometry and laser Doppler velocimetry. In the round jet, flow motion is dominated by large primary Kelvin–Helmholtz (K–H) structures. In the six-lobed rectangular jet, the K–H vortices are very thin compared to the large secondary vortices generated by the high shear at the lobed nozzle lip. The inspection of mean-velocity profiles and streamwise evolutions of the spreading rates in the major and the minor planes of the lobed jet confirm the absence of the switching-over phenomenon not observed on flow images. The streamwise structures that develop in orifice troughs render the volumetric flow rate significantly higher than that of the reference circular jet. Comparison of the obtained results to available data of the literature of similar rectangular six-lobed jets investigated at very high Reynolds numbers reinforces the notion that the three-dimensional flowfields at very low and very high Reynolds numbers are similar if the geometry of the lobed nozzle is conserved. However, important variations in flow dynamics might occur if one or several geometric parameters of the lobed nozzle are modified.     

Dual-plane stereoscopic particle image velocimetry: system set-up and its application on a lobed jet mixing flow

 The technical basis and system set-up of a dual-plane stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) system, which can obtain the flow velocity (all three components) fields at two spatially separated planes simultaneously, is summarized. The simultaneous measurements were achieved by using two sets of double-pulsed Nd:Yag lasers with additional optics to illuminate the objective fluid flow with two orthogonally linearly polarized laser sheets at two spatially separated planes, as proposed by Kaehler and Kompenhans in 1999. The light scattered by the tracer particles illuminated by laser sheets with orthogonal linear polarization were separated by using polarizing beam-splitter cubes, then recorded by high-resolution CCD cameras. A three-dimensional in-situ calibration procedure was used to determine the relationships between the 2-D image planes and three-dimensional object fields for both position mapping and velocity three-component reconstruction. Unlike conventional two-component PIV systems or single-plane stereoscopic PIV systems, which can only get one-component of vorticity vectors, the present dual-plane stereoscopic PIV system can provide all the three components of the vorticity vectors and various auto-correlation and cross-correlation coefficients of flow variables instantaneously and simultaneously. The present dual-plane stereoscopic PIV system was applied to measure an air jet mixing flow exhausted from a lobed nozzle. Various vortex structures in the lobed jet mixing flow were revealed quantitatively and instantaneously. In order to evaluate the measurement accuracy of the present dual-plane stereoscopic PIV system, the measurement results were compared with the simultaneous measurement results of a laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) system. It was found that both the instantaneous data and ensemble-averaged values of the stereoscopic PIV measurement results and the LDV measurement results agree well. For the ensemble-averaged values of the out-of-plane velocity component at comparison points, the differences between the stereoscopic PIV and LDV measurement results were found to be less than 2%. Received: 18 April 2000/Accepted: 2 February 2001     

Mixing in Circular and Non-circular Jets in Crossflow

Coherent structures and mixing in the flow field of a jet in crossflow have been studied using computational (large eddy simulation) and experimental (particle image velocimetry and laser-induced fluorescence) techniques. The mean scalar fields and turbulence statistics as determined by both are compared for circular, elliptic, and square nozzles. For the latter configurations, effects of orientation are considered. The computations reveal that the distribution of a passive scalar in a cross-sectional plane can be single- or double-peaked, depending on the nozzle shape and orientation. A proper orthogonal decomposition of the transverse velocity indicates that coherent structures may be responsible for this phenomenon. Nozzles which have a single-peaked distribution have stronger modes in transverse direction. The global mixing performance is superior for these nozzle types. This is the case for the blunt square nozzle and for the elliptic nozzle with high aspect ratio. It is further demonstrated that the flow field contains large regions in which a passive scalar is transported up the mean gradient (counter-gradient transport) which implies failure of the gradient diffusion hypothesis.