Experimental investigation of nozzle geometry effect on the characteristics and structure of submerged twin jets
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Date
2020-05
Authors
Nwaiwu, Chidiebere Felix
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Abstract
The effects of nozzle geometry on the mean and turbulent characteristics of submerged twin jets were experimentally investigated. The experiments were conducted at fixed Reynolds number and offset height ratio of 4,400 and h⁄d=2, respectively. The jets were produced from three nozzle geometries: round, square, and rectangle, with the rectangular nozzle geometry oriented in the minor (rect_min) and major (rect_maj) planes. The twin nozzles of each geometry type were aligned parallel to the free surface, and the separation ratio between the twin jets was fixed at G⁄d=2.3 for all cases. Velocity measurements were obtained using a particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique, and analyses of various quantities such as the instantaneous, mean, and surface velocities, as well as the turbulent statistics were performed. The jet-free surface interaction was examined using mean and turbulent surface velocities at the free surface, velocity defect, and vorticity thickness. Two-point velocity correlation and joint probability density function revealed the dynamics of the turbulent structures. Results from the velocity contours showed that the shear layer expansion was most rapid in twin jets produced from the rect_min nozzle geometry, which resulted in the shortest attachment length to the free surface. The instantaneous velocity field showed the most prograde and retrograde vortices in the rect_min nozzle geometry, accounting for the fastest shear layer expansion. Surface-normal profiles of the Reynolds stress ratio showed an enhancement of about 60% at the free surface and that the Townsend structure parameter was dependent on nozzle geometry. The mean surface velocity revealed that the free surface was in a state of strain due to alternating velocity gradient and was most intense in the rect_min jet. Large-scale structures produced along the centreline of the jet father away from the free surface (jet B) showed a larger streamwise extent compared to those along the centreline of the jet closer to the free surface (jet A) and were independent of nozzle geometry. Analysis of the joint probability density function of the streamwise and surface-normal velocity fluctuations showed that within the shear layer, the Reynolds shear stress producing events were dominated by slow entrainment and fast ejection events, and the damping effect of the free surface was least on the rect_min jets.
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Keywords
Jets, Submerged jet, Twin jet, Particle image velocimetry, Two-point correlation, Joint probability density function