Vortex dynamics and entrainment mechanisms in low Reynolds orifice jets (original) (raw)

Vortex dynamics and entrainment mechanisms in lobed jets

2007

Two isothermal turbulent air jets from lobed nozzles with inclined and respectively non inclined lobes and a circular reference jet with the same initial Reynolds number were experimentally studied. Quantitative image processing of time resolved visualizations as well as hot-wire measurements of the velocity spectra allowed an objective understanding of the vortex roll-up mechanisms. Unlike the circular jet, where the primary rings are continuous, the Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices in the lobed jet flows are discontinuous at the locations where the exit plane curvature turns to infinite. Primary structures detach at different frequencies whether they are shed in the lobe troughs or at the lobe sides. The ``cutting'' of the Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices enables the development of permanent secondary streamwise structures. Their momentum flux transport role is thus rendered more efficient and seems to be amplified by the double inclination of the injection boundary. The quantification of the entrained flow rates by means of LDA measurements perfectly agrees with these observations.

Primary and secondary vortical structures contribution in the entrainment of low Reynolds number jet flows

Experiments in Fluids, 2008

Particle image velocimetry measurements and time-resolved visualization are used for the reconstruction of the Kelvin–Helmholtz vortex passing in the near field of a round jet and of a lobed jet. For the round jet, the entrainment is produced in the braid region, where streamwise structures develop. In the Kelvin–Helmholtz ring, entrainment is dramatically affected by the attenuation of the streamwise structures. As for the lobed jet, the special geometry introduces a transverse shear leading to a breakdown of the Kelvin–Helmholtz structures into “ring segments.” Streamwise structures continuously develop at the resulting discontinuity regions and control the lobed jet self-induction. In this case, the entrainment rate is less affected by the primary structures dynamics.

On the flow physics and vortex behavior of rectangular orifice synthetic jets

Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 2019

Synthetic jet actuators possess a continuous jet like behavior in its far region and have found wide-scale engineering applications since it allows momentum transport to the flow system without any net mass transfer across the flow boundaries. The case of a non-axisymmetric synthetic jet is particularly significant since it is affected by the differential shear layer at the orifice exit, that depends on its aspect ratio. However, despite exhaustive research on both continuous and synthetic jets, very few studies have experimentally investigated the case of rectangular orifice synthetic jets, focusing on the effect of aspect ratio of the orifice as well as the actuation frequency upon the vortex behavior and the flow physics. In particular, the intriguing phenomenon of vortex bifurcation has mostly been reported only for an individual vortex or for a plain jet. Yet, in a train of vortex rings, such as that obtained in a synthetic jet, the occurrence of vortex bifurcation can be expected, although the flow physics in the wake of individual vortex rings is significantly different. The present study experimentally investigates a rectangular orifice synthetic jet at different orifice aspect ratios and actuation frequencies, focusing on exploring the conditions at which vortex bifurcation occurs, through LIF imaging and Hot-film measurements. The primary objective of these experiments is to provide a qualitative physical insight into the synthetic jet ejected from a rectangular orifice (through LIF imaging), as well as to quantitatively explore the experimental conditions that promote different flow structures (through velocity time trace, timeaveraged velocity profiles and power spectral density measurements), particularly the bifurcation of vortex rings. Our experiments indicate that the phenomenon of vortex bifurcation is observed during the axial switching of vortex rings, but only in a narrow range of experimental conditions. Further, the velocity measurements have ascertained that the two prominent reasons behind this bifurcation process are a large disparity in the velocities of the vortex core and the center of vortex ring, as well as the time lag in which the separation distance between the counter-rotating vortices decrease gradually to zero.

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

Meccanica, 2014

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.

Flow visualization of the non-parallel jet-vortex interaction

Journal of Visualization, 2018

The jet-vortex interaction is observed in settings ranging from aeronautics to physiology. In aeronautics, it presents as a parallel interaction of the jet exhaust and aircraft wing-tip vortex, and in the diseased state of the heart called aortic regurgitation, the interaction between blood flows is characterized by a non-parallel interaction. While there is substantial research into the mechanisms of the parallel interaction, there is comparatively limited scientific material focused on the non-parallel interaction. The objective of this study was to characterize three distinct orientations (30°, 60°and 90°) of the non-parallel jet-vortex interaction in a simplified flow loop. The ratio of the jet Reynolds number to the vortex ring Reynolds number was used to define four levels of jet strength. Flow visualization and particle image velocimetry were used to qualitatively and quantitatively describe how the flow structures interacted, and the energy dissipation rate of each condition was calculated. It was determined that as the relative jet strength increases, the vortex ring dissipates more rapidly and the energy dissipation rate increases. This information provides a basis for the understanding of a vortex ring's interaction with an impinging jet. When the angle between the jet and vortex ring flows is perpendicular, the energy dissipation rate decreased from 6.1 W at the highest jet strength to 0.3 W at the lowest jet strength, while at an angle of 30°the energy dissipation rate decreased from 51.8 to 10.3 W. This finding contradicts the expected result, which potentiates further studies of various non-parallel arrangements.

Vortex generating jets; effects of jet-hole inlet geometry

International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, 2002

An experimental study of flow downstream of round, pitched and skewed wall-jets (vortex generating jets) is presented to illustrate the effects of changing the geometric inlet conditions of the jet-holes. In one case the jet-hole has a smoothly contoured inlet, and in the other the inlet was a sharp-edged, sudden contraction. The test region geometry, mean jet flow and cross-flow conditions were otherwise identical. In both cases, dominant streamwise vortex structures are seen in the boundary layer downstream; the flow and turbulence is nearly the same in the far-field starting downstream of x=D ¼ 5. In the near-field, for x=D < 5, there are significant differences; turbulence levels are higher, and the start of the dominant vortex shape is less clear for the sharp-edged case. This is believed to be the result of flow separation and free shear layer instability inside the jet-hole which are not present for the smoothly contoured case.

The role of streamwise vorticity in the near-field entrainment of round jets

Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 1992

The role of streamwise vortex structures in the near-field (xjd < 10) evolution of a round jet is examined. In free shear layers the streamwise vorticity develops into Bernal-Roshko structures which are streamwise vortex pairs. Similar structures are shown to exist in round jets. These structures, which evolve and amplify in the braid region between primary vortical structures, are shown to drastically alter the entrainment process in the near field and to increase the rate at which fluid is entrained into the jet. As the flow evolves downstream, the efficiency of the streamwise vorticity in entraining fluid increases relative to that of the azimuthal vorticity. Beyond the end of the potential core regime, the entrainment process is mainly controlled by streamwise vorticity. These processes are identified via flow visualization and confirmed by detailed global entrainment measurements.

Characteristics of Small Vortices in a Turbulent Axisymmetric Jet

Journal of Fluids Engineering-transactions of The Asme, 2005

Characteristics of Small Vortices in a Turbulent Axisymmetric Jet Characteristics of small vortices were studied in axisymmetric jets wherein the Kolmogorov scale was approached by progressively decreasing the Reynolds number while still maintaining turbulent flow. A periodic forcing introduced far upstream of the jet nozzle ensured that the jet was turbulent. A vortex eduction tool was developed and applied to the high-pass filtered 2D velocity field in the axial plane of a turbulent jet while varying Re between 140 and 2600. Vortex population, energy, vorticity, and rms (root-meansquare velocity fluctuations) of the high-pass filtered field were measured to elucidate vortex characteristics. The observed population of vortices decreases dramatically at the Kolmogorov scale. The observed increase in vortex population with decreasing vortex size appears to be in accord with the space-filling argument, in that the vortex population in a two-dimensional domain should grow as R −2. The energy density curve obtained from vortex statistics reproduces the −5/3 slope for the inertial subrange, and the highpass filtered field accounts for approximately two-thirds of the total rms.

Vortical structures in a laminar V-notched indeterminate-origin jet

Physics of Fluids, 2005

A flow visualization investigation using dye-injection and laser-induced fluorescence techniques has been carried out to understand the vortex dynamics resulting from a Vnotched indeterminate-origin jet with two peaks and two troughs. The laminar jet was studied under forcing and non-forcing conditions to investigate the resultant dynamics of coherent large-and small-scale flow structures. Present experimental observations indicated that the effects of the nozzle peaks and troughs differ from those reported previously. Instead of the peaks producing streamwise vortex-pairs which spread outwards into the ambient fluid and the troughs generating similar vortex-pairs but entrain ambient fluid into the jet flows as indicated by earlier studies, the present experimental observations showed that both peaks and troughs produce outward-spreading streamwise vortex-pairs. Laser cross-sections further showed that the subsequent formation of azimuthal ring-vortices causes these streamwise vortex-pairs to be entrained. This entrainment causes the streamwise vortex-pairs to "rollup" together with the ring vortices, leading to intense flow interactions between them.

Direct numerical simulation of planar turbulent jets: Effect of a pintle orifice

Physics of Fluids

The effects of a pintle-shaped orifice on a planar turbulent jet flow at Reynolds number 4000, based on the inlet bulk mean velocity and the jet width, are studied using direct numerical simulations. Flapping of the jet along with a low-frequency modulation of the Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability, in the presence of a pintle-shaped orifice, is observed. To compare the pintle-jet behavior, a free-jet is simulated as a reference case. The effects of the near-field region on the far-field flow characteristics have been investigated. In both the cases, the KH instability in the near-field influences the far-field jet, whereas the pintle-jet also exhibits a low-frequency flapping. In addition, oblique vortex pattern has been observed in the case of pintle-jet. The far-field flow statistics of the pintle-jet with a top-hat inlet interestingly agree with those of the free-jet with a hyperbolic tangent inlet. Temporal variation of the jet characteristics has been analyzed using spatiotempo...