Unsteady wake vortices in jets in cross-flow

摘要

The current flow visualization study investigates unsteady wake vortices of jets in cross-flow in order to (1) advance the understanding of their origin and characteristics and (2) explore various excitation techniques for organizing and accentuating them. An isolated circular jet passed through a nozzle and entered the cross-flow normal to the wall. Free stream velocities up to 5 m/s and jet-to-cross-flow velocity ratio range between 1 and 10 were covered. While mechanical perturbation did not result in any significant periodic organization of the wake vortices, the database obtained for the unperturbed flow provided further insight into their behavior. The key finding was that the wake vortices always originated from the lee-side of the jet where the jet efflux boundary layer and the wall boundary layer intersected. In no case these vortices were seen to form either from the wall boundary layer or the jet shear layer at downstream locations. After formation the wake vortex twists and stretches as it convects downstream with the base still attached to the near-wall region on the jet's lee side. The top remains connected to the underside of the jet where the tracer particles dissipate due to high turbulence in the shear layer.