Numerical Study on Plane and Radial Wall Jets to Validate the 2D Assumption for an Idealized Downburst Outflow

Turbulent radial and plane wall jets have been extensively investigated both experimentally and numerically over the past few decades. Previous studies mostly focused on the heat and mass transfers involved in jet flows. In this study, a comprehensive investigation was conducted on turbulent radial and plane wall jets, considering both jet spread and velocity decay for different parameters. The numerical results were compared with existing experimental measurements. The comparison focused on the velocity profile, jet spread, and velocity decay, and revealed that the Reynolds stress model (RSM) performs well in the simulation of both radial and plane wall jets. The results show that with a typical ratio of cloud base height to diameter for most downburst events, the effects of nozzle height and Reynolds number on the evolution of the radial wall jet are not significant. Both the jet spread and velocity decay exhibit a clear dependence on the Reynolds number below a critical value. Above this critical value, the plane wall jet becomes asymptotically independent of the Reynolds number. The co-flow was found to have a significant influence on the evolution of the plane wall jet. Comparatively, the jet spread and velocity of the radial wall jet were faster than those of the plane jet. For applications in civil engineering, it is valid to approximate the downburst outflow with a two-dimensional (2D) assumption from the perspective of longitudinal evolution of the flows.

Scour downstream of a corrugated apron under wall jets

Experiments were performed over smooth and corrugated aprons with different corrugation dimensions to study the scour and flow characteristics under submerged wall jets condition. The scour depth and length are significantly lower for corrugated than smooth rigid aprons. The maximum reductions in scour depth and length are 79 and 83%, respectively. Optimum scour depth and length are found for aspect ratio (ratio of corrugation wave length to amplitude) three for corrugated apron. The factors affecting scour depth and length were analyzed graphically, and empirical equations are proposed for predicting maximum scour depth and length, and the point of maximum scour depth for corrugated aprons. Velocity, turbulence characteristics, and Reynolds stress in scour holes for smooth and corrugated aprons were also studied. HIGHLIGHT This paper presents the scour downstream of corrugated apron and flow characteristics under submerged wall jets. Here scour depth and length reduces significantly than other apron. In this we have tried to develop empirical equation on single size sediment considering all the flow parameter and apron parameter. Besides this we have also conducted study related to turbulence and shear stress and velocity vector profile.

Oscillating Wall Jets for Active Flow Control in a Laboratory Fume Hood—Experimental Investigations

Wall jets are applied to reduce flow separation and recirculation of the airflow entering the inner space of a laboratory fume hood through its front opening. The flow separation in the hood was further reduced by introducing a self-induced oscillatory motion using fluidic oscillators. The design of the oscillators integrated in the predetermined contour are based on numerical simulations. The effect of the steady and unsteady wall jet was investigated experimentally using flow visualization, particle image velocimetry (PIV), and containment measurements. The oscillatory wall-jet led to reduction of flow separation and recirculation even at lower injection volume flows. In consequence, the usage of fluidic oscillators for a laboratory fume hood increases the energy efficiency of the system without reducing the safety of the laboratory fume hood.

On the challenges of precise velocity measurements in vertical convective wall jets

For the transition of our energy supply towards a higher share of renewables, thermal energy storage (TES) systems are, besides electric batteries and chemical energy storage systems, one promising solution to overcome the volatile nature of renewable energy sources. For the most efficient operation, the liquid storage material in the tank should be stratified by its temperature-dependent density. As a result, the cold fluid remains at the bottom, and the heated fluid rises to the top (Alva et al. (2018)). Typically steel tanks are used for TES, and thus, the wall material has a thermal diffusivity that is one to two orders of magnitudehigher than that of the storage fluid. Consequently, the tank’s sidewalls work as a thermal bridge between the stratified layers. In recent studies, the authors have shown that the resulting heat flux induces two counterdirected, convective wall jets near the sidewalls of the tank, which increase mixing of the stratification and thus lowers the exergy content and the storage efficiency (Otto et al. (2019, 2020)). Using a model experiment of a TES, the entire vertical extent of the detected wall jets is investigated. Hence, the typical flow structures of vertical, natural convection under the influence of non-zero temperature gradients in the ambient fluid can be analyzed, which can help to improve storage tanks in the future. The velocity in the region of the wall jets is measured via 2d particle-image velocimetry (PIV) in a rectangular model experiment of 750mm height on a base area of 375mm×375mm made from polycarbonate. The jets evolve on the surface of an aluminum plate simulating the storage tank’s sidewall. The measuring system consists of four cameras with a resolution of 2160×2560 pixels combined with objective lenses with 100mm focal length capturing the raw images in a plane perpendicular to the aluminum wall. A Nd:YAG laser with a wavelength of 532nm illuminates the measuring plane. Simultaneously using up to four cameras adjacent to each other and stitching their resulting vector fields, the vertical extent of the field of view increases from 38mm up to 140mm. Despite this, the field of view is still much smaller than the vertical extent of the model experiment, so that seven consecutive runs are performed to cover the entire height. Disturbing reflections of the laser light sheet on the aluminum wall are eliminated using optical filters for the cameras that are opaque for the green laser light in combination with fluorescently (Rhodamine B) dyed PMMA tracer particles with a diameter between 1–20μm. The particles emit light at a wavelength of 610nm (orange light) and can therefore be detected through the cameras’ filters. During four separate measuring periods, where each lasts for two minutes, double frame images are captured with a time difference of 19.981 ms (maximum possible value) at a measuring frequency of 7 Hz. Figure 1 shows a schematic of the camera setup next to the model experiment and the measurement and evaluation procedure to finally receive one time-averaged velocity field per measuring period of the full height of the experiment. The raw data evaluation process starts with calculating the vector fields of all cameras used at a certain measuring position and stitching them to one flow field of this position. Since the wall jets’ horizontal extents are with 2–7mm relatively small and they show high velocity gradients, the raw images are evaluated in both single-frame and double-frame mode. With a velocity threshold that corresponds to a pixel displacement of 1/4 of the interrogation window size and the time difference of the single-frames, the resulting vector fields are masked and merged into one final vector field. This vector field consists of high velocities evaluated in double-frame mode and low velocities evaluated in single-frame mode (see Figure 2) thus minimizing the relative error. The algorithm used in this work is similar to the multi-frame PIV approach introduced by Hain and K¨ahler (2007). Figure 3 shows the time-averaged results of the first measuring period for each of the seven measuring positions in height.

The use of the interaction of convex wall jets for ventilation with variable air flow

The most energy efficient ventilation and air-conditioning is variable air flow (VAV) depending on the needs of a room. To avoid broken air circulation by gravitational forces, the most of air diffusers should change geometrical shape and sizes using additionall automation of them. In contrast, high stability of a scheme of air exchange organization with air supply over a working zone by convex wall jets that interact with each other under conditions of variable air flow, is confirmed. This scheme is useful in cases where it is impossible to supply air directly to the working zone. Simulation of the air exchange organization in an exhibition hall of International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv with ventilation at a variable air volume (VAV) in the entire possible range of performance control has been performed. The floor area is 5258 m2, the height is 19 m. The outdoor air-flow at design conditions (100 % load) is 21.667 m3/s (78000 m3/h). The minimum load corresponds to the absence of solar radiation and only some people in the room. The minimum air-flow is 25 % of the design one. The proposal air scheme is single-zonal using 24 diffusers PES-D-8-10/15-0,9 4 m above the floor and air removal from the upper zone. The air distributor have a diameter of a cylindrical surface and an inlet branch pipe of 8 dm (800 mm). There are 10 rows of nozzles at an angle π/12 (15 °) to the horizon on each distributor. The total area of the air outlet on them is equal to 0.9 of the cross-sectional area of the inlet pipes. Due to forces of the vacuum holding of jets on the wall surfaces, the influence of gravitational forces is significantly reduced. This avoids the automation of air distribution devices to stabilize the scheme of air circulation in the room by gravitational forces. It is enough to install valves with actuators on branches of a network of air ducts. Thus, the economic benefit of the system is confirmed both at the stage of installing and during operation.