Numerical simulation of the instability of an inviscid liquid jet in a coflowing compressible airstream

Abstract

The nonlinear interfacial instability of a liquid jet in a coflowing compressible airstream is studied numerically. A high-resolution scheme which has second-order accuracy in space and time is coupled with a Lagrangian marker particle algorithm to visualize the large-scale motion of the interfaces in compressible flow. A numerical algorithm based on an approximate equation of state of a compressible liquid is developed to allow this two-fluid system to be governed by the nonlinear unsteady Euler equations in conservative form. The initial growth of small disturbances given by the simulations agrees well with linear theory. The process of jet disruption in compressible flow is demonstrated to consist of the formation of liquid spikes, interweaving of the gas and liquid and stretching and detachment of the liquid main center core.