An Experimental Investigation of the Pressure-Velocity Cross-Correlation in an Axisymmetric Jet

This study investigates the strength of the pressure-velocity correlations of a Mach 0.6, axisymmetric jet, with an exit nozzle diameter of 50.8mm. Experiments are conducted at a constant exit temperature of 25°C, and exit pressure and temperature are balanced with ambient conditions. The instantaneous velocity measurements are acquired using a multi-component LDA system who’s measurement volume is traversed along several radial and streamwise locations within the potential core, and mixing layer regions of the flow. The fluctuating lip pressure is simultaneously sampled by an azimuthal array of (15) dynamic transducers, evenly spaced at 24°. These are positioned just outside the shear layer near the jet exit at z/D = 0.875, and 1.75R from the centerline, where the pressure field has been shown to be hydrodynamic. From this multi-point evaluation, the cross-correlations between the near-field pressure array (fixed), and streamwise component of the velocity field (traversed) are examined as a function of radial, streamwise, and also azimuthal separation. The results illustrate a remarkable coherence between the near field pressure and the velocity field, on the order of 25%. Streamwise convection velocities of 0.77U_j and 0.73U_j are calculated within the potential core and shear layer, respectively. Analysis of the coherency spectra illustrates the frequency band of the correlations and suggest that the potential core and mixing layer regions of the flow are, in general, governed by the high and low frequency motions of the flow, respectively. The azimuthal modal distribution of the cross-correlation shows the dominance of the column mode of the jet, with no higher modes exhibited within the potential core region, and only modes 1 & 2 within the shear layer.