The near field behavior of turbulent gas jets in a long confinement

The present investigation reports on the near field behavior of gas jets in a long confinement and points out the differences between this type of jet flow and those of free jets and jets in a short confinement.The jet, with a diameter of 8.73 mm, is aligned concentrically with a tube of 125 mm diameter; thus giving a confinement area ratio of 205. The arrangement forms part of the test section of an open-jet wind tunnel and this gives a confinement length-to-jet diameter ratio of 1,700. Experiments are carried out with carbon dioxide, air and helium/air jets at different jet velocities. Mean velocity and turbulence measurements are made of the jet near field using a one-color, one-component laser doppler velocimeter operating in the forward scatter mode. In addition, the turbulent shear field of an air jet is examined in more detail using hot-wire anemometers.In view of the long confinement, the presence of the jet is not being felt immediately at the tunnel exit. Consequently, the air column inside the tunnel is first compressed by the jet and then slowly pushed out of the tunnel. This behavior causes the jet to spread rapidly and to decay quickly. As a result, an equilibrium turbulence field is established in the first two diameters of the jet. This equilibrium field bears striking similarity to that found in self-preserving, turbulent free jets and jets in short confinement and is independent of jet fluid densities and velocities. In terms of these characteristics, the near field of jets in a long confinement is very different from that found in free jets and jets in short confinements.