The Recirculatory Flow Induced by a Laminar Axisymmetric Jet Issuing From a Wall

Abstract

The laminar, axisymmetric, submerged jet issuing from a plane, infinite wall perpendicular to the jet axis is considered at very large distance from the nozzle. Based on previous results of an asymptotic analysis, an approximate analytical solution for the complete flow field is obtained. The structure of the far field is discussed by considering various regions the size of which depends strongly on the Reynolds number. The main region is a toroidal eddy in which both inertial and viscous forces are of importance. Closer to the nozzle there is a slender jet flow with slowly varying momentum flux together with a self-similar viscous outer flow. At larger distances, the flow resembles the creeping flow due to point sources of momentum and mass, with the former decaying more rapidly than the latter as infinity is approached. Analytical predictions of the location of the eddy center compare favorably with experimental and numerical results.