Structural features resulting from the interaction of a turbulent jet issuing transversely into a uniform stream are described with the help of flow visualization and hot-wire anemometry. Jet-to-crossflow velocity ratios from 2 to 10 were investigated at crossflow Reynolds numbers from 3800 to 11400. In particular, the origin and formation of the vortices in the wake are described and shown to be fundamentally different from the well-known phenomenon of vortex shedding from solid bluff bodies. The flow around a transverse jet does not separate from the jet and does not shed vorticity into the wake. Instead, the wake vortices have their origins in the laminar boundary layer of the wall from which the jet issues. It is argued that the closed flow around the jet imposes an adverse pressure gradient on the wall, on the downstream lateral sides of the jet, provoking 'separation events’ in the wall boundary layer on each side. These result in eruptions of boundary-layer fluid and formation of wake vortices that are convected downstream. The measured wake Strouhal frequencies, which depend on the jet-crossflow velocity ratio, match the measured frequencies of the separation events. The wake structure is most orderly and the corresponding wake Strouhal number (0.13) is most sharply defined for velocity ratios near the value 4. Measured wake profiles show deficits of both momentum and total pressure.

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Vortical structure in the wake of a transverse jet

The structure of round jets in cross-flow was studied using flow visualization techniques and flying-hot-wire measurements. The study was restricted to jet to freestream velocity ratios ranging from 2.0 to 6.0 and Reynolds numbers based on the jet diameter and free-stream velocity in the range of 440 to 6200.Flow visualization studies, together with time-averaged flying-hot-wire measurements in both vertical and horizontal sectional planes, have allowed the mean topological features of the jet in cross-flow to be identified using critical point theory. These features include the horseshoe (or necklace) vortex system originating just upstream of the jet, a separation region inside the pipe upstream of the pipe exit, the roll-up of the jet shear layer which initiates the counter-rotating vortex pair and the separation of the flat-wall boundary layer leading to the formation of the wake vortex system beneath the downstream side of the jet.The topology of the vortex ring roll-up of the jet shear layer was studied in detail using phase-averaged flying-hot-wire measurements of the velocity field when the roll-up was forced. From these data it is possible to examine the evolution of the shear layer topology. These results are supported by the flow visualization studies which also aid in their interpretation.The study also shows that, for velocity ratios ranging from 4.0 to 6.0, the unsteady upright vortices in the wake may form by different mechanisms, depending on the Reynolds number. It is found that at high Reynolds numbers, the upright vortex orientation in the wake may change intermittently from one configuration of vortex street to another. Three mechanisms are proposed to explain these observations.

An experimental study of round jets in cross-flow

The paper reports on measurements in the flow generated by a jet issuing from a circular outlet in a wall into a cross-stream along this wall. For the jet-to-crossflow velocity ratios R of 0.5, 1 and 2, the mean and fluctuating velocity components were measured with a three-sensor hot-wire probe. The hot-wire signals were evaluated to yield the three mean-velocity components, the turbulent kinetic energy, the three turbulent shear stresses and, in the case of R = 0.5, the terms in the turbulent-kinetic-energy equation. The results give a quantitative picture of the complex three-dimensional mean flow and turbulence field, and the various phenomena as well as their dependence on the velocity ratio R are discussed in detail.

Experimental investigation of jets in a crossflow

In the mixing of a jet with a cross-stream, it is found that in the near field, defined as the region of the flow from the jet exit to a distance of a few diameters downstream of this exit, a considerable amount of dynamical adjustment takes place. This near-field region characterizes the subsequent behaviour and development of the jet, its wake and the cross-stream in the vicinity of this mixing region. The rapid evolution of the flow gives rise to a pair of bound vortices attached to the lee side of the jet boundary, to fast development of the turbulent and mean vorticity, to a vortex-shedding system, and to the largest rates of entrainment of cross-stream flow into the jet. Furthermore, it is found that the geometrical configuration of the boundaries at the jet exit plays an important role in the mixing and development processes.An intrinsic method is proposed for the delineation of the flow boundaries between the jet and the cross-stream. Calculations of mass, momentum and vorticity fluxes have been made. The vorticity flux gives evidence of the rapid stretching and tilting of the vorticity vector field in the near-field region.

The near field in the mixing of a round jet with a cross-stream

Mixing of multiple jets with a confined subsonic crossflow

Measurements in the wake behind turbulent jets exhausting from a solid surface into a cross-wind indicate that vortex shedding occurs as in the case of flow past solid bluff bodies. The Strouhal numbers for flow past a circular and a blunt jet are in qualitative agreement with those for corresponding solid bodies, provided that the width of the spreading jet some distance from the surface is used rather than the jet exit plane dimension.

H. M. McMahon

Papers

Vortex shedding from a turbulent jet in a cross-wind