Spreading Layer of Two‐Dimensional Buoyant Jet

Abstract

A two dimensional buoyant jet, discharged vertically into a stratified fluid with no crossflow, is considered. Simple equations are developed with dimensional analysis to predict the location and concentration of effluent as it begins to spread horizontally from the buoyant jet axis; the dimensionless independent variables are determined by a stratification parameter and the jet‐source flux of either momentum or buoyancy. Scale model tests verify the form of these equations and provide experimental values of coefficients not provided by the dimensional analysis. The results are compared to estimates made using the integral equations and found to provide a better description of the location and thickness of the spreading layer.