The role of vorticity in the near field development of sharp-edged, rectangular, wall jets

Abstract Experimental results on the near field development of a turbulent rectangular wall jet with aspect ratio 10 that issues from a sharp-edged orifice at Re h  ∼ 23,000 are presented and discussed, in comparison with results obtained in a free jet with identical initial conditions. Hot wire X-probe measurements on cross plane grids provide information on the 3D characteristics of the flow field. This work, besides presenting the main features of the jet, focuses on the effect of vorticity on the development of specific flow field characteristics. Mean vorticity components were estimated by interpolation and derivation from the mean and turbulent velocity measurements and the symmetries of the flow field were imposed by suitable averaging. Several terms of the axial vorticity equation are presented and discussed to uncover some complex flow physics, related e.g. to axis switching and the formation of a dumbbell shape of the jet outline, in the early stages of development.