Organized motion in a very high Reynolds number jet

Abstract

Direct visual observations of a high Reynolds number jet are presented. The jet consists of the exhaust plume of a TITAN IV rocket motor, which was discharged upward during ground-based testing producing an estimated Reynolds number of about 2×108. An overall view of the first 2000 ft of the resulting plume is observed and discussed. Image processing is used to enhance the plume appearance and reveal significant events associated with the jet evolution. The most striking finding is the progression of organized structures up through the jet, similar to those observed in laboratory flows at Reynolds numbers of 104. Significant differences are also seen between the time-averaged scalar field, which appears more Gaussian, and the instantaneous scalar field, which appears more top hat. It is concluded that the organization is associated with inviscid instability mechanisms that are Reynolds number independent, and that large-scale organization is an integral part of the evolution of such flows, and not a remnant of transitional behavior.