The effect of acoustic excitation on a low Reynolds number jet with constant centreline velocity u 0 but varying velocity profile u(y) is investigated experimentally using Particle Imaging Velocimetry (PIV). Different initial conditions at the nozzle orifice are here used with the intend to characterise the relation between the jet preferred mode f p and the natural shear layer mode f n . The jet response to acoustic excitation is described in terms of the centreline velocity decay and the downstream increase in momentum thickness. This study intends to shed some light onto the duality of the two most fundamental flow instabilities and their controversial dependency on each other.

The goal of this paper is to present the behaviour of a jet shear layer in response to acoustic excitation from a signal processing perspective. The main idea is that the vortices that roll-up in the jet shear layer are similar to the discrete samples of a digital control system, and hence that the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem should apply. We further hypothesize that the strength of a vortex is determined by the mean amplitude of the excitation waveform during its creation. We also argue that, at least in some cases, demodulation occurs as a result of the vorticity signal generated by the convection of discrete vortices past a point in the shear layer. This vorticity signal is related to the amplitude modulation (AM) excitation waveform by a half-wave rectification operation, a common implementation of an AM demodulator. To investigate these ideas, a free, round jet that is excited upstream of the nozzle is studied using particle image velocimetry (PIV). Experiments are conducted that confirm that the sampling theorem applies and an aliased response is observed when the Nyquist limit is exceeded. Previous authors have attributed demodulation to a vortex merging mechanism, but we demonstrate that merging is not always required for demodulation, and suggest that it is one of two mechanisms at play.

Shear layers act as demodulators when subjected to amplitude modulated, acoustic perturbations. Recent work explained that the demodulation is a result of the hypothesized relationship between the excitation waveform and the vorticity signal of the large scale structures, which was represented by a half-wave rectification model. In this paper, this model is explored by overmodulating the excitation signal amplitude. The rectifier model predicts several effects of overmodulation on the flow response, including a doubling of the demodulated response frequency. To validate these predictions, a free, round jet that is excited acoustically upstream of the nozzle is studied using particle image velocimetry (PIV). Analytical results from the model are confirmed using a second experimental setup where a jet that emerges from a nozzle and attaches to an adjacent, inclined wall is excited acoustically. Beyond the insight it provides into shear layer vortex dynamics, overmodulation serves as a useful excitation technique for practical applications, where the shear layer response frequency can be increased at the expense of the response amplitude.

The objective of this study is to investigate, experimentally, using Particle Image Velocimeter (PIV), the effect of different heat transfer boundary conditions on natural convection (specifically on flow patterns) inside a storage tank (a rectangular enclosure in this case with an aspect ratio of 0.5.) Purified water is used as the working fluid and it is seeded with 10 micron hollow glass sphere particles. The results of the first set of experiments are used to verify the flow patterns expected for the constant wall temperature boundary condition, the benchmark case. Similar experiments are conducted for the constant heat flux boundary condition. The Rayleigh number for all the cases studied lie between 106 and 107. The time averaged velocity field is determined using standard cross correlation techniques. Streamlines, and velocity contour plots are generated using this velocity field. Finally, the results of both cases are compared to identify the differences in circulation patterns and thermal stratification in the fluid.

This paper demonstrates the application of polarized-depolarized Rayleigh scattering (PDRS) as a simultaneous mixture fraction and temperature diagnostic for non-reacting gaseous mixtures. Previous implementations of this technique have been beneficial when used for combustion and reacting flow applications. This work sought to extend its applicability to non-isothermal mixing of different gases. The use of PDRS shows promise in a range of applications outside combustion, such as in aerodynamic cooling technologies and turbulent heat transfer studies. The general procedure and requirements for applying this diagnostic are elaborated using a proof-of-concept experiment involving gas jet mixing. A numerical sensitivity analysis is then presented, providing insight into the applicability of this technique using different gas combinations and the likely measurement uncertainty. This work demonstrates that appreciable signal-to-noise ratios can be obtained from this diagnostic in gaseous mixtures, yielding simultaneous temperature and mixture fraction visualization, even for an optically non-optimal selection of mixing species.