Analysis of the Instability of Laminar, Newtonian Liquid Jets in Air.

This dissertation results from an investigation into the instability of free jets of a Newtonian liquid (water) in air which are produced from long nozzles and have initially parabolic velocity profiles. This work includes an experimental investigation into both the jet length and the drop formation of such jets. This work also includes a numerical solution of the momentum equations in cylindrical coordinates. From the experimental work, a modification to existing theoretical equations has been made to account for the existance of local maxima in the length of laminar jets as their velocity is increased. An addition to the modification to account for the local minimum in the jet length as the jet velocity profile become turbulent is suggested. From the numerical simulation more insight into the greater instability of sinusoidal disturbances on the surface of laminar jets has been gained