A numerical simulation of high-Reynolds-number opposed impinging wall water jets in a limited field

Abstract

In the impinging region of opposing jets, strong mixing and significant energy dissipation are observed, but the mixing parameters invariably change with the opposed impinging strength (OIS). In this paper, the ratio of the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) intensity at the theoretical impinging point to the nozzle exit is defined as the opposed impinging strength. To examine the mixing properties of opposed impinging jets (OIJs) in a limited field under various OIS, a renormalization group k-ε turbulence model is employed to calculate three-dimensional OIJs under various OIS. The nozzle exit diameter is set to 0.6 m, and the inlet velocity is between 0.08 and 8 m/s, so the simulations are performed at Re between 4.8 × 104 and 4.8 × 106. This work focuses on the radial and vertical jets produced after impinging as well as the distribution of the TKE, flow field, and vortices. A thorough investigation reveals that although the OIS of the jets is primarily determined by the degree of jet development, it increases with the Reynolds number. A low OIS results in less mixing in the surrounding water and relatively unconstrained jet generation; however, it also results in limited energy extraction from the fluid. Once the OIS is high, there is more mixing in the surrounding water, and more energy is also lost during impinging. The distribution of vortices in the vortex field is not only influenced by the OIS but is also very closely related to the scale of the limited mixing field.