UCLA

A detailed experimental study of flow in a rectangular sudden expansion using both active and passive forcing techniques has been made. The configuration consists of a 2:1-aspect-ratio rectangular channel which undergoes a sudden expansion such that the backward-facing step height (h) is uniform, and equal to the minor side of the inlet channel. Passive forcing was provided by the system geometry; the rectangular vortex rings formed in the shear layer of the expanding jet undergo self-induction, deforming the jet cross-section and introducing transverse velocities not found in plane or axisymmetric configurations. Active forcing was induced by periodic fluctuations in the system flow rate at the jet natural frequency. This served to enhance the unusual three-dimensional effects and phase-lock the flow for ensemble analysis. The results presented here include a description of the evolution of an isolated vortex in this configuration obtained from flow visualization of a suddenly started jet, as well as forced steady-state three-component velocity measurements which are used to characterize the flow field. The evolution of a rectangular vortex ring in the jet shear layer is traced, and both fluctuating and time-constant transverse velocities are related to the passage of the vortex structures.