On the dynamics of buoyant jets in a linearly stratified ambient

Abstract

We report mean flow and turbulence characteristics of a buoyant jet evolving in a linearly stratified ambient with stratification strength N=0.4 s−1. The velocity and density fields are captured experimentally using simultaneous particle image velocimetry and planar laser-induced fluorescence technique. We report our findings by strategically choosing four axial locations such that it covers different flow regimes; namely, momentum-dominated region, buoyancy-dominated region, neutral buoyant layer, and plume cap region. The results at these axial locations are presented as a function of the radial co-ordinate to provide a whole field picture of the flow dynamics. From the mean axial velocity and density fields, it is seen that the velocity and the scalar (density) widths are of the same magnitude in the momentum-dominated region but show significant difference in the buoyancy-dominated region and beyond. It is also seen that the axial velocity for the buoyant jet is consistently higher than pure jet at different axial locations due to buoyancy-aided momentum. With the help of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budget analysis, it is seen that the shear production (P) and TKE dissipation (ϵ) for a buoyant jet are higher compared to the case of pure jet at different axial locations, cementing the role of buoyancy and stratification on the flow dynamics. Further, it is observed that the buoyancy flux (B) aids and destroys TKE intermittently in the radial direction, and it is at least O(102) smaller than P, ϵ, and the mean flow buoyancy flux (F). Finally, the relative strength of the turbulent transport of momentum to that of scalar in the radial direction is quantified using the turbulent Prandtl number, Prt. It is seen that Prt ≈1 upto the neutral buoyant layer and ≈ 0.6 in the plume cap region. The current set of results obtained from experiments are first of its kind and elucidates various aspects of the flow which hitherto remained unknown and will also prove to be useful in testing numerical simulations for buoyancy-driven flows.