Flow structures in initial region of two interacting parallel plane jets

The initial region of two interacting parallel plane jets with a truncated bluff body at the plane of symmetry is studied with velocity measurements in the frequency and time domains. The mean flows of the two plane jets are nearly parallel to the plane of symmetry, and their inner and outer mixing regions are found. Within these mixing regions their respective trains of coherent structures, which are of vortical form, are established. The inner vortices are inwardly rotational, while the outer vortices rotate outwardly. The successive initial vortices in the inner mixing region seem to undergo two processes of either pairing or amalgamation. The former results in the formation of a nearly circular coherent structure, while the latter results in the elongated structure. Both the inner and other structures experience fairly rapid decay. The process of decay also seems to be either the usual decay or the division of the coalesced structure back into the individual vortical structures followed by their decay.     

Active Control of Swirling Coaxial Jet Mixing with Manipulation of Large-Scale Vortical Structures

Large-scale vortical structures and associated mixing in methane/air swirling coaxial jets are actively controlled by manipulating the outer shear layer of the outer swirling coaxial jet with miniature flap actuators. In order to investigate the control mechanisms, stereoscopic particle image verocimetry (stereo-PIV) and plannar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) techniques are employed. It is found that intense vortex rings are produced in the outer shear layer in phase with the periodic flap motion regardless of the swirl number examined. The vortical structures in the inner shear layer, however, are strongly dependent on the swirl rate. This is because the central methane jet is accelerated by the negative axial pressure gradient, of which strength is determined by the swirl. As a result, the inner vortex formation is significantly suppressed at a higher swirl rate. On the other hand, at a relatively low swirl rate, the inner vortices are shed continuously and the methane jet is pinched off. This particular mode promotes the mixing of methane and air, so that the flammable mixture can be formed at an earlier stage of the jet flow development. In addition, the evolution of secondary streamwise vortices is prompted by the combination of the periodic vortex ring shedding and the swirl. They also contribute to the mixing enhancement in the downstream region.     

Combination interaction of Taylor–Goertler vortices in a curved shear layer of a supersonic jet

Problems of origination and evolution of streamwise vortex structures in an initial region of the shear layer of a supersonic jet are discussed. Streamwise vortices are generated with the use of artificial microroughnesses on the internal surface of polished nozzles. Results of Pitot pressure distributions measured in a supersonic nonisobaric jet both in the radial and azimuthal directions are presented. Streamline curvature in the initial region of supersonic nonisobaric jets has a significant effect on evolution of streamwise vortex structures. Azimuthal heterogeneity corresponding to streamwise vortices in the shear layer is analyzed with the use of both the Fourier analysis and wavelet analysis. PACS 47.40.Ki, 47.20.Ft, 02.30.Nw     

Near field vortex dynamics in axially forced,laminar, co-flowing jets: a descriptive study of the flow configurations

An experimental study is presented of the vortex structures that appear in the shear layer of laminar, co-flowing air jets subjected to strong axial forcing. A set of flow visualisation experiments has been performed to elucidate the nature of the different structures and the mechanisms leading to their appearance and further interactions. The axial forcing sets the axisymmetric instability to prescribed values of amplitude and frequency (and thus wavelength) and produces a strong effect in the lateral spreading of the inner jet. It is shown that the near field development of the flow can be explained via inviscid vortex dynamics arguments, involving three vortex structures. Due to the strong axial forcing, all these vortices already appear as developed concentrations of vorticity in the surroundings of the nozzle exit. An azimuthal perturbation is added to the flow in the form of a lobed nozzle exit, in order to lock the azimuthal organisation of the vortices. The results are discussed and some representative configurations are examined. Each configuration appears for a given range of the forcing parameters. A tentative model of the near-field vortex dynamics is developed, but quantitative measurements are still necessary.     

Components of wall shear rate in wavy Taylor-Couette flow

The time-resolved axial and azimuthal components of the wall shear rate were measured as function of Reynolds number by a three-segment electrodiffusion probe flush mounted in the inner wall of the outer fixed cylinder. The geometry was characterized by a radius ratio of 0.8 and an aspect ratio of 44. The axial distribution of the wall shear rate components was obtained by sweeping the vortices along the probe using a slow axial flow. The wavelength and phase celerity of azimuthal waves, axial wavelength of vortices and their drifting velocity were calculated from the limiting diffusion currents measured by three simple electrodiffusion probes.     

An experimental study of the under-expanded swirling jet with secondary coaxial stream

The present study addresses experimental results for investigating the details of the near field flow characteristics produced in an under-expanded, dual, coaxial, swirling jet. The under-expanded swirling jet is discharged from a sonic inner nozzle. An outer annular nozzle produces co- and counter-swirling streams relative to the inner primary swirling jet. The interaction between both the outer annular swirling stream and inner under-expanded swirling jet is quantified by impact and static pressure measurements, and visualized by using the shadowgraph method. Experiments are performed for several different pressure ratios. The results show that the outer secondary co-swirling jet significantly changes the structure of the inner under-expanded swirling jet, such as the shock structures and the recirculation region generated at the jet axis. The effect of the outer secondary stream on the major structures of the inner primary swirling jet is strongly dependent on the pressure ratio of the inner swirling jet, regardless of the swirl direction of the outer stream.Received: 17 May 2004, Accepted: 27 September 2004, Published online: 26 November 2004[/PUBLISHED]H.D. Kim: Correspondence to     

Helical-mode excitation of lifted flames using piezoelectric actuators

 Experiments of helical excitation using piezoelectric actuators on jet flows and lifted flames are performed to enhance the understanding of the effects of vortical structures of various instability modes on the stabilization mechanism of the lifted flame. In addition to the common ring and braid structures, five or seven azimuthal fingers (or lobes) can be identified in the transverse image of the jet near field. Excitation with various helical modes enhances the azimuthal structures and entrainment in the near field. When helically excited with the asymmetric m=1 mode, one of the fingers is enhanced and may evolve into a strong streamwise vortex. The streamwise vortices generated in the braid region between the adjacent ring vortices may enhance fuel-air mixing due to additional azimuthal entrainment upstream of a lifted flame when helically excited with the m=1 mode. Therefore, the streamwise vortex serves as an additional path of high probability of premixed flammable layer for the upstream propagation of the lifted flame so that the flame base on one side of the lifted flame may extend farther upstream and the flame base is inclined. In addition to the inclined flame base, multiple-legs phenomenon is also observed in the flame base, which is strongly associated with fingers of the helical modes of the jet flow. Received: 21 August 1997/Accepted: 24 January 1999     

Manipulation of Large-Scale Vortical Structures and Mixing in a Coaxial Jet with Miniature Jet Actuators Toward Active Combustion Control

Manipulation of large-scale vortical structures and associated mixing in a methane-air coaxial jet is carried out by using miniature jet actuators installed on the inner surface of the annular nozzle. The periodic radial miniature jet injections are achieved with a rapid-response servo-valve. The spatio-temporal primary jet structures are investigated through phase-locked 2C-PIV (2 Component Particle Image Velocimetry) and stereoscopic-PIV. It is found that intense ring-like vortices are produced perfectly in phase with the periodic miniature jet injections regardless of the valve-driven frequency f_v examined. When the Strouhal number St_v, which is defined with f_v, is larger than unity, the ring-like vortices are densely formed and thus methane/air mixing is prompted with low periodic fluctuation. The diameter of the vortices becomes small as St_v is increased, so that the transport range of the inner methane and outer air fluids can be controlled by changing St_v. In addition, the evolution of counter-rotating vortex pair is also observed in the cross-sectional plane. These streamwise vortices are directly formed as a result of the radial miniature jet injection, which leads to entrainment of the ambient fluid near the primary jet shear layer, and they also contribute to the mixing enhancement. Moreover, it is demonstrated that coaxial jet flame characteristics such as carbon monoxide (CO) emission and flame holding can be drastically improved under different equivalence ratios by the present jet control scheme.     

Large-Eddy Simulations of Forced Three-Dimensional Impinging Jets

Large-eddy simulations of the flow field around twin three-dimensional impinging jets were carried out to simulate the near-ground hover configuration of a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Both the impinging jet and the upwash caused by the collision of the wall jets are modeled in this study. The evolution of the vortical structures in the impinging jet flow field, due to the introduction of axisymmetric and azimuthal perturbations at the jet exit, has been investigated. The vortical structures formed in the jet shear layer due to azimuthal forcing, show significant three-dimensional vortex stretching effects when compared to the structures formed during axisymmetric forcing. Breakdown of the large-scale structures into smaller vortices also occurs much earlier during azimuthal forcing. When compared to the upwash formed during axisymmetric forcing, the azimuthally perturbed jet forms an upwash that is less coherent and results in a weaker upload or lift-off force on the aircraft undersurface. Comparison with available experimental data indicates good agreement for the centerline velocity decay, the wall pressure variation and the phase speed of the vortical structures.     

Direct numerical simulation of particle-laden plane turbulent wall jet and the influence of Stokes number

The distribution and motion of inertial particles in plane turbulent wall jet are investigated using direct numerical simulation, under the assumption of one-way coupling. To our knowledge, this appears to be the first direct numerical simulation of a particle-laden plane turbulent wall jet. It is shown that, in outer part of the wall jet, the behaviour of particles closely resembles that of a free plane jet. Due to the streamwise decay of particle Stokes number, the particle streaks formed in the near wall region of the wall jet are characterized by their intensity variation, which differs significantly from those in the channel flow. The streamwise growth of the particle velocity half-width is approximately equal to that of the fluid velocity half-width and the maximum velocity of particles decays slower than that of fluid due to inertia. The outer scaling can collapse the mean particle velocity in both the inner and outer region for heavier particles. In the buffer region, the particle–fluid velocity difference can be negative or positive depending on the Stokes number since there are two competing effects, namely the memory effect and turbophoresis. In the viscous region, the larger particles are on average faster than fluid and the velocity difference is found to be self-similar depending on outer Stokes number. The near-wall distribution of velocity difference is significantly correlated with the presence of high-momentum particles which are entrained by vortical structures generated in the outer region of the wall jet. These results are useful for environmental and engineering applications.     

Dynamics of interaction modes in excited annular jets

Evolution of coherent structures and their interaction dynamics are educed in the near field of an acoustically excited basic annular jet using conditional sampling technique based on a multiple triggering criterion to detect the two dominating modes of structure pattern. Acoustic excitation is applied with an aim to better organize the phase alignment of initial rolling and pairing process in the outer shear layer. Negligible modification of the time-averaged flow field results from the excitation. The educed coherent vorticities show that the two modes of evolution are due to the corresponding two modes of shedding pattern of the wake structures from the centerbody, namely the mode one wake and the mode zero wake. In both modes, the shear-layer mode jet vortex rings in the outer layer are perturbed by the shedding of wake structures in the inner region and interaction involving primary merging of three successive jet vortex rings or their partial circumferential sections is found. This results in the formation of wake-induced structures of the corresponding mode pattern, which possesses concentration of coherent vorticity and fluid circulation over a large spatial extent at 1 < x/D < 2. Secondary interactions, such as vortex tearing, are also observed.     

Three-dimensional vortex dynamics and convective heat transfer in circular and chevron impinging jets

This paper describes an experimental investigation at Reynolds number equal to 5000 on circular and chevron impinging jets by means of time-resolved tomographic particle image velocimetry (TR-TOMO PIV) and infrared (IR) thermography. TR-TOMO PIV experiments are performed at kilo-hertz repetition rate in a tailored water jet facility where a plate is placed at a distance of 4 diameters from the nozzle exit. Using air as working fluid, time-averaged convective heat transfer is measured on the impinged plate by means of IR thermography with the heated-thin-foil heat transfer sensor for nozzle-to-plate distances ranging from 2 to 10 diameters. The circular impingement shows the shedding and pairing of axisymmetric toroidal vortices with the later growth of azimuthal instabilities and counter-rotating streamwise vortices. In the chevron case, instead, the azimuthal coherence is replaced by counter-rotating pairs of streamwise vortices that develop from the chevron notches. The heat transfer performances of the chevron impingement are compared with those of the circular one, analyzing the influence of the nozzle-to-plate distance on the distribution of Nusselt number. The chevron configuration leads to enhanced heat transfer performances for all the nozzle-to-plate distances hereby investigated with improvements up to 44% at the center of the impinged area for nozzle-to-plate distance of 4. Such enhancements are discussed in relation to the streamwise structures that, compared with the toroidal vortices, are associated with an earlier penetration of turbulence towards the jet axis and a higher arrival speed.     

Numerical investigation of a spatially developing turbulent natural convection boundary layer along a vertical heated plate

Large-eddy simulation (LES) on a spatially developing natural convection boundary layer along a vertical heated plate was conducted. The heat transfer rate, friction velocity, mean velocity and temperature, and second-order turbulent properties both in the wall-normal and the stream-wise direction showed reasonable agreement with the findings of past experiments. The spectrum of velocity and temperature fluctuation showed a -2/3-power decay slope and -2-power decay slope respectively. Quadrant analysis revealed the inclination on Q1 and Q3 in the Reynolds stress and turbulent heat flux, changing their contribution along the distance from the plate surface. Following the convention, we defined the threshold region where the stream-wise mean velocity takes local maximum, the inner layer which is closer to the plate than the threshold region, the outer layer which is farther to the plate than the threshold region. The space correlation of stream-wise velocity tilted the head toward the wall in the propagating direction in the outer layer; on the other hand, the correlated motion had little inclination in the threshold region. The time history of the second invariant of gradient tensor Q revealed that the vortex strength oscillates both in the inner and the outer layers in between the laminar and the transition region. In the turbulent region, the vortex was often dominant in the outer layer. Instantaneous three-dimensional visualization of Q revealed the existence of high-speed fluid parcels associated with arch-shape vortices. These results were considered as an intrinsic structure in the outer layer, which is symmetrical to the structure of canonical smooth/rough wall bounded layer flow in forced convection.     

Computations of breakup modes in laminar compound liquid jets in a coflowing fluid

We present a numerical investigation of breakup modes of an axisymmetric, laminar compound jet of immiscible fluids, which flows in a coflowing immiscible outer fluid. We use a front-tracking/finite difference method to track the unsteady evolution and breakup of the compound jet, which is governed by the Navier–Stokes equations for incompressible Newtonian fluids. Numerical results show that depending on parameters such as the Reynolds number Re (in the range of 5–30) and Weber Number We (in the range of 0.1–0.7), based on the inner jet radius and inner fluid properties, the compound jet can break up into drops in various modes: inner dripping–outer dripping (dripping), inner jetting–outer jetting (jetting), and mixed dripping–jetting. Decreasing Re or increasing We promotes the jetting mode. The transition from dripping to jetting is also strongly affected by the velocity ratios, U₂₁ (intermediate to inner velocities) and U₃₁ (outer to inner velocities). Increasing U₂₁ makes the inner jet thinner and stretches the outer jet and thus promotes jetting. In contrast, increasing U₃₁ thins the outer jet, and thus, when the inner jet is dripping, the outer jet can break up into drops in the mixed dripping–jetting mode. Continuously increasing U₃₁ results in thinning both inner and outer jets and thus produces small drops in the jetting mode. In addition, starting from dripping, a decrease in the interfacial tension ratio of the outer to inner interfaces results in the mixed dripping–jetting and jetting modes. These modes produce various types of drops: simple drops, and compound drops with a single inner drop (single-core compound drops) or a few inner drops (multi-core compound drops).     

Experiments on dynamic behavior of near-field region in variable property jet with swirling flow

The dynamic behavior of the near-field region in a coaxial variable property jet has been experimentally investigated under a swirling flow produced by rotating cylindrical inner and outer tubes, focusing on how the swirl of the outer jet affects the formation of a stagnation point in the swirling inner jet. The inner and outer jets rotate in the same direction. Air, CO₂, or He is issued from the inner tube as a variable property jet, and air is issued from the outer tube in this work. In the case of a CO₂ jet (a high-density, low-viscosity gas jet), a stagnation point flow is more easily formed than in the case of an air jet, and the stagnation point location is significantly lower than in that of the air jet. When the swirl of the outer jet is introduced, a stagnation point flow is more easily formed than in the case of a nonswirling outer jet, and the stagnation point location is much lower than in the case of a nonswirling outer jet. In the case of a He jet (a low-density and high-viscosity gas jet), the inner jet does not have a stagnation point flow, and its overall behavior remains nearly unchanged even under high swirl numbers of the inner and outer jets. These results clearly show that the density and viscosity differences between the inner and outer jets have a significant impact on the dynamic behavior of the near-field region in the coaxial swirling jet. The significant lowering of the stagnation point location can be physically explained by considering the theoretical equation obtained in this work.     

Topology of radial jet reattachment

Topological features of the flow emanating from a radial jet nozzle and its subsequent reattachment on a flat surface were investigated using a variety of flow visualization techniques in the Texas A & M University (TAMU) water tunnel. Dominant features of the flow were observed to be the bifurcation of streamsurface after a turbulent reattachment into inner and outer flows. The inner flow was dominated by a sequence of events consisting of the recirculation, formation and breakup of the ring vortex into foci structures, mass entrainment and ejection. Outer flow exhibited formation of secondary vortices, and shear layer instabilities.     

Mixing and coherent vortices in turbulent coaxial jets

Direct numerical simulations associated with mixing in constant-density round coaxial jets are performed. They are validated by comparison against laboratory experiments. The mixing process is studied by seeding a passive tracer first in the outer annular jet, then in the inner jet. We demonstrate the important role played by coherent vortices in the mixing mechanisms. The turbulent mixing exhibits an intermittent character as a consequence of fluid ejections caused by the counter-rotating streamwise vortices. We quantify also the domination of the outer jet and show that the fluid issuing from the central jet remains confined. To cite this article: G. Balarac, M. Si-Ameur, C. R. Mecanique 333 (2005).     

Large eddy simulation of flows after a bluff body: Coherent structures and mixing properties

This paper performs large eddy simulations (LES) to investigate coherent structures in the flows after the Sydney bluff-body burner, a circular bluff body with an orifice at its center. The simulations are validated by comparison to existing experimental data. The Q function method is used to visualize the instantaneous vortex structures. Three kinds of structures are found, a cylindrical shell structure in the outer shear layer, a ring structure and some hairpin-like structures in the inner shear layer. An eduction scheme is employed to investigate the coherent structures in this flow. Some large streaks constituted by counter-rotating vortices are found in the outer shear layer and some well-organized strong structures are found in the inner shear layer. Finally, the influences of coherent structures on scalar mixing are studied and it is shown that scalar in the recirculation region is transported outward by coherent structures.     

Population,characteristics and kinematics of vortices in a confined rectangular jet with a co-flow

Vortex behavior and characteristics in a confined rectangular jet with a co-flow were examined using vortex swirling strength as a defining characteristic. On the left side of the jet, the positively (counterclockwise) rotating vortices are dominant, while negatively rotating vortices are dominant on the right side of the jet. The characteristics of vortices, such as population density, average size and strength, and deviation velocity, were calculated and analyzed in both the cross-stream direction and the streamwise direction. In the near-field of the jet, the population density, average size and strength of the dominant direction vortices show high values on both sides of the center stream with a small number of counter-rotating vortices produced in the small wake regions close to jet outlet. As the flow develops, the wake regions disappear, these count-rotating vortices also disappear, and the population of the dominant direction vortices increase and spread in the jet. The mean size and strength of the vortices decrease monotonically with streamwise coordinate. The signs of vortex deviation velocity indicate the vortices transfer low momentum to high-velocity region and high momentum to the low velocity region. The developing trends of these characteristics were also identified by tracing vortices using time-resolved particle image velocimetry data. Both the mean tracked vortex strength and size decrease with increasing downstream distance overall. At the locations of the left peak of turbulent kinetic energy, the two-point spatial cross-correlation of swirling strength with velocity fluctuation and concentration fluctuation were calculated. All the correlation fields contain one positively correlated region and one negatively correlated region although the orientations of the correlation fields varied, due to the flow transitioning from wake, to jet, to channel flow. Finally, linear stochastic estimation was used to calculate conditional structures. The large-scale structures in the velocity field revealed by linear stochastic estimation are spindle-shaped with a titling stream-wise major axis.     

Coherent structures in unsteady swirling jet flow

An LDA technique and phase-averaging analysis were used to study unsteady precessing flow in a model vortex burner. Detailed measurements were made for Re=15,000 and S=1.01. On the basis of the analysis of phase-averaged data and vortex detection by the λ₂-technique of Joeng and Hussain (1995), three precessing spiral vortex structures were identified: primary vortex (PV), inner secondary vortex (ISV), and outer secondary vortex (OSV). The PV is the primary and most powerful structure as it includes primary vorticity generated by the swirler; the ISV and OSV are considered here as secondary vortical structures. The jet breakdown zone is the conjunction of a pair of co-rotating co-winding spiral vortices, PV and ISV. The interesting new feature described is that the secondary vortices form a three-dimensional vortex dipole with a helical geometry. The effect of coupling of secondary vortices was suggested as a mechanism of enhanced stability reflected in their increased axial extent.