MEASUREMENT OF THE TURBULENT-FLOW FIELD IN A FREE-SURFACE JET OF WATER

Measurements of the mean velocity and turbulence intensity are presented for a rectangular jet of water ejecting into a gaseous ambient. Data are reported for streamwise locations up to 30 nozzle widths from the discharge and spanwise locations covering the inner 80% of the jet width. The flow conditions at the nozzle discharge were controlled by using different nozzle designs (parallel-plate and converging) and flow manipulators (wire grid and screens). The results track the mean velocity and turbulence intensity profiles with streamwise distance, highlighting changes in both the profile shapes and magnitudes for both measured quantities. Independent of nozzle configuration, the mean velocity profile was shown to be most nonuniform and the turbulence intensity most nonhomogeneous at the nozzle discharge. With increasing streamwise distance, the mean velocity profile underwent a gradual transition to a completely uniform condition, while the turbulence field decayed and became homogeneous. The rate of viscous dissipation was shown to depend strongly on the nozzle exit condition.