Book Description

The mean flow properties and the instantaneous flow structures of the jets are then investigated. The introduction and increase of swirl result in a higher jet growth, decay and turbulent intensity, the formation of an off-axis axial velocity maximum and the occurrence of vortex breakdown. The swirl-induced jet growth enhancement can be categorized into three regimes: a low swirl regime in which there is a limited enhancement, a moderate swirl regime in which the enhancement scales with swirl, and a high swirl regime in which vortex breakdown dominates the process. The jet growth behavior in the high swirl regime is found to be dependent on the structure of the jet and the vortex breakdown configuration. A significant change in the flow structures and certain mean flow properties including the centerline and local maximum axial velocity decay are observed in the low and the moderate swirl regimes. These properties appear to be less sensitive to swirl in the high swirl regime after the occurrence of vortex breakdown. The effects of Reynolds number on swirling jets may not be identical to that on a non-swirling jet. The statistical characteristics measured show that low velocity occasions in the vicinity of the jet centerline start to appear at a sufficiently high degree of swirl. These occasions increase with swirl until the eventual occurrence of vortex breakdown. The statistical characteristics of jets that have undergone vortex breakdown are very similar, as they are dominated by the vortex breakdown phenomenon. The mean flow and the statistical measurements also reveal the presence of an unstable vortex breakdown that is difficult to detect using flow visualization and instantanous velocity field measurements.