Direct numerical simulation of a low momentum round jet in channel crossflow

Results of a direct numerical simulation of a jet in crossflow with passive scalar mixing are presented. The laminar jet issues from a circular exit into the channel crossflow with a low jet-to-crossflow velocity ratio of 1/6. The governing equations are solved by Incompact3d, an open-source code combining the high-order compact scheme and Poisson spectral solver. An internal recycling approach is used to generate the fully turbulent channel flow profile. Four main flow structures are identified: 1) a large recirculation seen immediately downstream of the jet-exit; 2) a contour-rotating vortex pair formed from the stretching and reorientation of the injection-flow vorticity; 3) a horseshoe vortex generated as a result of the stretching of the vorticity at the jet-exit windward side; 4) shear layer vortices coming from the lifted and shed crossflow boundary layer vorticity. Passive scalar profiles show the mixing are strong in the shear layer where the crossflow fluid encounters the jet fluid. The database is made available online for public access.