Mean Flow and Mixing Properties of a Vertical Round Turbulent Buoyant Jet in a Weak Crosscurrent

This paper deals with the mean flow and mixing properties of a vertical round turbulent buoyant jet in a weak crosscurrent, through an implementation of the integral method. The phenomenon is described by the Reynolds averaged partial differential equations of continuity, momentum and conservation of tracer mass formulated in a curvilinear cylindrical coordinate system. Applying second order mathematical approximations, the equations are integrated on a reduced cross-sectional area of the jet under the similarity assumption and the boundary conditions. The reduced area by a cyclical sector provides increased entrainment due to the increase of its perimeter, which reduces the fluxes and affects the dilution, and the model predictions, mainly the dilutions, are considerably improved. A system of ordinary differential equations is produced, which is solved numerically using a 4(th) order Runge-Kutta method. The results obtained for several values of the normalized ratio of ambient over buoyant-jet exit velocity are compared with experimental data of normalized trajectories and dilutions available in the literature. The satisfactory performance of the integral model for weak current velocities makes it suitable for research, for studying effluent discharges in water bodies or in the atmosphere, as well as for design purposes.