Characteristics of small vortices were studied in axisymmetric jets wherein the Kolmogorov scale was approached by progressively decreasing the Reynolds number while still maintaining turbulent flow. A periodic forcing introduced far upstream of the jet nozzle ensured that the jet was turbulent. A vortex eduction tool was developed and applied to the high-pass filtered $2D$ velocity field in the axial plane of a turbulent jet while varying Re between 140 and 2600. Vortex population, energy, vorticity, and rms (root-mean-square velocity fluctuations) of the high-pass filtered field were measured to elucidate vortex characteristics. The observed population of vortices decreases dramatically at the Kolmogorov scale. The observed increase in vortex population with decreasing vortex size appears to be in accord with the space-filling argument, in that the vortex population in a two-dimensional domain should grow as $R−2$. The energy density curve obtained from vortex statistics reproduces the $−5∕3$ slope for the inertial subrange, and the high-pass filtered field accounts for approximately two-thirds of the total rms.

1.
George
,
W. K.
, and
Baker
,
C. B.
, 1980, “
Analysis of Hot-Wire-Measurements in Turbulent Jets
,”
Bull. Am. Phys. Soc.
0003-0503,
25
(
9
), p.
1074
.
2.
Hussein
,
H. J.
,
Capp
,
S. P.
, and
George
,
W. K.
, 1994, “
Velocity Measurements in a High Reynolds Number, Momentum-Conserving Axisymmetric Turbulent Jet
,”
J. Fluids Mech.
,
258
, pp.
31
75
.
3.
Agrawal
,
A.
, and
Prasad
,
A. K.
, 2002, “
Properties of Vortices in the Self-Similar Turbulent Jet
,”
Exp. Fluids
0723-4864,
33
, pp.
565
577
.
4.
Agrawal
,
A.
, and
Prasad
,
A. K.
, 2003, “
Measurements Within Vortex Cores in a Turbulent Jet
,”
ASME J. Fluids Eng.
0098-2202,
125
, pp.
561
568
.
5.
Agrawal
,
A.
, and
Prasad
,
A. K.
, 2002, “
Organizational Modes of Vortices in an Axisymmetric Turbulent Jet
,”
Flow, Turbul. Combust.
1386-6184,
68
, pp.
359
377
.
6.
Frisch
,
U.
, 1995,
Turbulence: The Legacy of A. N. Kolmogorov
,
Cambridge University Press
,
Cambridge, England
.
7.
Hinze
,
J. O.
, 1959,
Turbulence: An introduction to Its Mechanism and Theory
,
McGraw-Hill
,
New York
.
8.
Tennekes
,
H.
, and
Lumley
,
J. H.
, 1972,
A First Course in Turbulence
,
The MIT Press
,
Cambridge, MA
.
9.
Reynolds
,
W. C.
,
Parekh
,
D. E.
,
Juvet
,
P. J. D.
, and
Lee
,
M. J. D.
, 2003, “
Bifurcating and Blooming Jets
,”
Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech.
0066-4189,
35
, pp.
295
315
.
10.
Adrian
,
R. J.
,
Christensen
,
K. T.
, and
Liu
,
Z.-C.
, 2000, “
Analysis and Interpretation of Instantaneous Turbulent Velocity Fields
,”
Exp. Fluids
0723-4864,
29
, pp.
275
290
.
11.
Robinson
,
S. K.
,
Kline
,
S. J.
, and
Spalart
,
P. R.
, 1989, “
Quasi-Coherent Structures in the Turbulent Boundary Layer. Part II: Verification and New Information From a Numerically Simulated Flat-Plate Boundary Layer
,”
Near Wall Turbulence, Proceedings of Zaric Memorial Conference
,
S. J.
Kline
and
N. H.
Afgan
, eds.,
Hemisphere
,
New York
, pp.
218
247
.
You do not currently have access to this content.