Interaction of inner and outer layers in plane and radial wall jets

Abstract

Large eddy simulations of turbulent radial and plane wall jets were performed at different Reynolds numbers using the Lagrangian dynamic eddy viscosity subgrid-scale model. The results were validated with experimental data available in the literature. Compared to the plane ones, the radial wall jets have an extra direction for expansion, which causes faster decay rates. Thus, the resulting pressure gradient distributions are different. However, the comparison of the results with the turbulent boundary layers under adverse and favourable pressure gradients reveals that these pressure gradients are not strong enough to cause any fundamental physical difference between plane and radial wall jets. In both cases, the local Reynolds number is an important determining factor in characterisation of the flow. The joint probability density function analysis shows that the local Reynolds number determines the level of intrusion of the outer layer into the inner layer: the lower the local Reynolds number, the stronger is the interaction of the inner and outer layers. These results can be used to clarify the scatter of the reported log-law constants in the literature.