Experiments on dynamic behavior of near-field region in variable property jet with swirling flow

The dynamic behavior of the near-field region in a coaxial variable property jet has been experimentally investigated under a swirling flow produced by rotating cylindrical inner and outer tubes, focusing on how the swirl of the outer jet affects the formation of a stagnation point in the swirling inner jet. The inner and outer jets rotate in the same direction. Air, CO₂, or He is issued from the inner tube as a variable property jet, and air is issued from the outer tube in this work. In the case of a CO₂ jet (a high-density, low-viscosity gas jet), a stagnation point flow is more easily formed than in the case of an air jet, and the stagnation point location is significantly lower than in that of the air jet. When the swirl of the outer jet is introduced, a stagnation point flow is more easily formed than in the case of a nonswirling outer jet, and the stagnation point location is much lower than in the case of a nonswirling outer jet. In the case of a He jet (a low-density and high-viscosity gas jet), the inner jet does not have a stagnation point flow, and its overall behavior remains nearly unchanged even under high swirl numbers of the inner and outer jets. These results clearly show that the density and viscosity differences between the inner and outer jets have a significant impact on the dynamic behavior of the near-field region in the coaxial swirling jet. The significant lowering of the stagnation point location can be physically explained by considering the theoretical equation obtained in this work.