Experimental investigation of the flow in the near-field of a cross-shaped orifice jet

Abstract

The flow in the near-field of a cross-shaped orifice jet is investigated experimentally in the present study. The three components of the velocity field are obtained at different longitudinal locations using time-resolved stereoscopic particle-image velocimetry measurements. The mean and the instantaneous entrainment rates are calculated to study the entrainment mechanism. The distribution of momentum thicknesses is also inspected in the region of the axis switching. It is found that both the instantaneous entrainment rate and the net volume flux are strongly dependent on the vortical structures present in the flow and particularly at different parts of the Kelvin–Helmholtz vortex ring. Hence, different phases of the flow are investigated in the region of the axis switching. The contribution of the turbulent normal and shear stresses to the streamwise vorticity generation is also studied in the near-field of the cross jet. The momentum flux and its streamwise evolution are obtained from the mean velocity field. The contribution of different turbulent intensities to the momentum flux is given. The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is then applied to show the streamwise evolution of energy content of the most energetic POD modes.