A NUMERICAL STUDY OF SWIRLING BUOYANT LAMINAR JETS AT LOW REYNOLDS NUMBERS

The effect of swirl on laminar buoyant jets with low Reynolds numbers is explored. Three dimensional direct numerical simulations are performed to solve the time-dependent, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. We use a body fitted grid system and employ the finite volume method to discretize the governing equations. A second-order central difference scheme is employed for all spatial derivative terms. The numerical simulation is advanced in time by a fractional step method with the second-order Adams-Bashforth scheme for explicit-convection terms and the Crank-Nicholson scheme for implicit-diffusion terms. The amount of swirl and buoyancy is varied from zero to very large values and the effect on the velocity field, jet width, entrainment and vortex are examined. Comparisons with analytical and experimental models are discussed.