Effects of jet velocity profiles on a round jet in cross-flow

This paper reports the results of an experimental investigation on the effects of jet velocity profiles on the flow field of a round jet in cross-flow (JICF) using laser-induced fluorescence and digital particle-image velocimetry techniques (DPIV). Tophat and parabolic jets were considered, with the momentum ratios (MRs) ranging from 2.3 to 5.8. Results show that the thicker shear layer associated with a parabolic JICF is able to delay the formation of leading-edge and lee-side vortices when compared to the tophat JICF at the corresponding MR. As a result, there is an increase in jet penetration and a reduction in the near-field entrainment of cross-flow fluid by a parabolic JICF. Also, the less coherent nature of the leading-edge and lee-side vortices in a parabolic JICF is more likely to break up sporadically into smaller-scaled vortices. In addition, DPIV results show that a parabolic JICF exhibits not only a faster velocity recovery of cross-flow fluid at the jet lee-side than the corresponding tophat JICF, it also consistently registers a higher magnitude of the peak average vorticity than the tophat JICF for all MR considered. Despite these differences, the time-averaged flow topology for both cases share many salient features.