Analytical and experimental study of flow from a slot into a freestream

The fluid mechanics of a jet issuing from a slot into a freestream is studied analytically and experimentally. The analytic study assumes incompressible, inviscid, irrotational flow for both the jet and freestream as well as equal stagnation pressures. The analysis proceeds by means of potential flow theory, using the Helmholtz-Kirchoff method of mapping the physical flow onto a simpler domain. This method examines the relationships between the geometrical and velocity parameters. Theoretical results for the mass flow out of the slot, shape of the streamline which divides the injectant from the mainstream, the coefficient of pressure across the slot, the velocity field across the slot and the coefficient of discharge from the slot are found for various slot angles. The calculated flow rates and coefficients of discharge are compared with data obtained from experiments performed using air flowing from a plenum, through a slot, into a small wind tunnel. The calculated and measured flow rates give similar trends and agree within ±17%. Differences are due to experimental uncertainties and the neglect in the theory of downstream flow separation and subsequent reattachment, upstream boundary layer thickness, or turbulent mixing along the dividing streamline. Despite these differences, the gross influence of the mainstream on the mass flow from the jet compares well. The effect of unequal stagnation pressures in the jet and mainstream is investigated experimentally and found to be smaller than the effect of changing geometry. The general agreement between theory and experiment suggests that pressure effects control the overall flow rate to a large extent and that this model can serve as a skeletal study for slot flow.Applied Science, Faculty ofMechanical Engineering, Department ofGraduat