103

A review of jet mixing enhancement for aircraft

propulsion applications
K Knowles and A J Saddington

Department of Aerospace, Power, and Sensors, Cranfield University, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom,
Shrivenham, Swindon, UK

The manuscript was received on 6 April 2005 and was accepted after revision for publication on 8 December 2005.

DOI: 10.1243/09544100G01605

Abstract: This article reviews techniques applicable to enhancing the mixing of jets, with
particular emphasis on infrared (IR) signature reduction of high-speed jets. Following a brief
introduction to the IR signature of jet plumes and the fundamentals of jet mixing, this paper
discusses rapid mixing technologies under the categories of: geometric modifications (to the
nozzle); high shear stress mixing; normal stress mixing; self-acoustic excitation; external acous-
tic excitation; mechanically oscillated; self-oscillated. It is shown that mixing enhancements of
the order of 100 per cent are possible with some techniques and that by combining techniques
this can be increased by at least as much again. Simple geometric calculations are presented
which demonstrate that with rectangular nozzles such high levels of mixing enhancement
may be necessary in order to reduce IR signature. Some apparent rapid mixing technologies,
however, have been shown to increase jet spreading without increasing entrainment, whereas
other techniques can reduce entrainment as easily as they can increase it.

Keywords: jet, mixing, infrared, signature, propulsion

1 INTRODUCTION This gives rise to a characteristic double-peaked

This paper presents the results of a review of the pub-
lished literature on techniques applicable to promot-
ing rapid mixing of high-speed jets. The motivation
for this study is a desire to reduce the infrared (IR)
signature of propulsive jet plumes. Rapid mixing is
not the only approach which offers the potential for
exhaust plume IR suppression but it does offer a
number of interesting possibilities, including noise
reduction in some cases.
1.1 IR signature of jet plumes
The IR signature of jet plumes is dominated by radia-
tion from carbon dioxide (CO2). This takes place at a
wavelength of 3 – 5 mm [1], but there is absorption by
the atmospheric CO2 between the plume and detec-
tor and a spectral spread caused by the Doppler shift.


Corresponding author: Department of Aerospace, Power, and
Sensors, Cranfield University, Defence Academy of the United
Kingdom, Shrivenham, Swindon SN6 8LA, UK.
a.j.saddington@cranfield.ac.uk
thermal spectrum known as the ‘red spike’ and the
‘blue tail’ (see for example reference [2]).
Thermal radiation is dominated by jet static
temperature. Banken et al. [2] derived the following
relationship for plume IR signature
 n
T
IR ¼ IRref (1)
Tref
where the subscript ‘ref’ denotes reference con-
ditions. For a reference temperature of 867 K, the
magnitude of the exponent, n was found to vary
linearly between 9 (T  350 K) and 6 (T  1000 K).
Decher [3] quotes n equal to 4 – 5 for an aircraft turbo-
fan jet plume. Although the exponent increases as jet
static temperature decreases, the benefit obtained by
reducing jet exhaust temperature is significant. For
example, in equation (1), reducing jet static tempera-
ture by 100 K gives 60 per cent reduction in IR signa-
ture relative to the reference level.
For a fixed stagnation temperature, jet static temp-
email: erature will be affected by nozzle pressure ratio
(NPR) (increased NPR causing a reduction in fully

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104
expanded gas static temperature). NPR has also been
identified as having two other effects [2]. Firstly, for a
fixed nozzle expansion ratio, changes in NPR alter the
plume shock structure giving rise to gas static temp-
erature and density changes. Because IR signature is
a function of static temperature, IR images of exhaust
plumes can be used to visualize shock cell patterns
due to the large temperature changes which exist
there. Banken et al. [2] estimate that ,20 per cent
of the IR signature of a jet plume is due to shocks.
This could be reduced by the use of correctly
expanded nozzles, albeit at the expense of nozzle
weight and increased (hot) area. It should be noted,
however, that even nozzles designed to be correctly
expanded will not operate as such in all flight con-
ditions. Secondly, for fixed nozzle area and total
temperature, increasing NPR gives higher nozzle
mass flow rate, which leads to a longer plume and
increased radiation. Overall, however, Banken et al.
[2] found that increasing NPR causes a reduction in
total plume thermal emissions. An exception to this
was the case of a circular, convergent nozzle that
exhibited a minimum IR signature at NPR ¼ 3.5,
possibly due to changes in plume mixing.
An important consideration in the scaling of
exhaust plume IR signatures is the optical thickness
of the plume gases. For gas that is optically ‘thin’,
there is a small probability of a photon of emitted
energy being absorbed, whereas with optically
‘thick’ gas, there is a high probability of absorption.
For the optically ‘thin’ case, plume thermal emission
energy is a function of gas volume [2], and for the
‘thick’ case, it is a function of projected surface
area of gas [2]. A typical plume will range from
‘thick’ to ‘thin’ depending on the part of the spec-
trum being examined.
The most important and persistent contribution to
jet plume thermal radiation comes from the hot core
of unmixed exhaust gases [3]. This ‘semi-transparent
volume of carbon dioxide and water’ bounded by a
cone (if the nozzle is round) radiates at the static
temperature of the gas. As Decher [3] shows, the
length of this hot core, L is given by
(Vj þ V1 )
L/H
(Vj  V1 )
Table 1 Jet characteristics derived from simple theoretical considerations
Type of jet Peak velocity decay
21/3
Laminar slot jet Vm / x
Turbulent slot jet Vm / x 21/2
Turbulent round jet Vm / x 21
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K Knowles and A J Saddington
Rapid mixing technology must aim to reduce the
constant of proportionality in equation (2), thereby
reducing the area (or volume) of the radiating poten-
tial core.
1.2 Fundamentals of jet mixing
Extensive studies have been made of jet mixing
characterizing, for example, entrainment [4], species
transport [5], large-scale structures and [6], and
temperature dispersion [7]. This section gives a
brief overview of the fundamentals of jet mixing.
Subsonic, viscous jet flows can be described in
terms of three regions: the potential core, within
which velocity is constant and around which a
shear layer develops; a transition region, where
mean and turbulence characteristics are developing;
and the final, fully developed region where local
mean velocity profiles are self-similar. Table 1 illus-
trates some relationships that can be deduced from
simple theoretical considerations [8].
For supersonic jets, the initial jet development is
dominated by shock formation. Here, there are
three cases to consider: overexpanded, under-
expanded, and highly underexpanded.
1.2.1 Overexpanded jets
Overexpanded jets only occur when convergent –
divergent nozzles are operated at pressure ratios
below the correctly expanded value determined by
the exit-to-throat area ratio. Below this design NPR
(but above the value for choking), oblique shocks
form at the nozzle exit. These reflect from the jet
boundary as expansion fans which in turn reflect as
compression waves. This leads to a supersonic core
consisting of shock diamonds, which gradually
decays, eventually leading to a self-similar, subsonic
jet decaying as above. Certain overexpanded
pressure ratios will lead to a normal shock at the
exit or in the nozzle divergence.
1.2.2 Underexpanded jets
Underexpanded jets occur when convergent or
convergent –divergent nozzles are operated above
(2)
their correctly expanded pressure ratio. For a
Spreading rate Comments
b/x 2/3
Laminar for Re , 30, where Re ¼ f(9Mx)/(2rV 2)g1/3, M is
the momentum
b/x  tan 138 Two-dimensional if AR . 12
Fully developed by x/H 5 40, x measured from virtual
origin
b/x  tan 128 For co-flowing stream, replace V by V 2 V1
G01605 # IMechE 2006
 Review of jet mixing enhancement
convergent nozzle operating in air (g ¼ 1.4), this
correctly expanded NPR is 1.89. At the nozzle exit,
the working fluid is at a higher pressure than the
surrounding ambient fluid and adjusts through a
series of expansion waves shed from the nozzle lip.
This expansion fan reflects from the jet boundary
as compression waves which rapidly converge to
form oblique shock waves. Again a supersonic core
is produced containing a shock-diamond structure.
It can be difficult to distinguish between underex-
panded and overexpanded jets from schlieren or
shadowgraph images (for example, see reference
[9], where the two are mistaken in figure 5.23).
1.2.3 Highly underexpanded jets
Highly underexpanded jets occur for pressure ratios
above 3.85 (g ¼ 1.4). Near the jet axis, the flow
cannot be turned sharply enough through an oblique
shock to maintain axisymmetry and so a normal
shock is set up. Outside this so-called ‘Mach disc’,
there remains an oblique shock, leading to an
inverted velocity profile (faster on the outside of the
jet than on the axis), a slip line between the slower
core and faster outer region, and re-acceleration of
the core flow downstream of the Mach disc [10],
which increases in diameter with increasing levels
of underexpansion [11]. The flow structure of a
highly underexpanded jet can lead to some appar-
ently anomalous results when a series of radial
pitot traverses is conducted at various streamwise
positions. Such traverses, when corrected for
probe-induced shocks, will reveal a higher total
pressure towards the outer region of the jet than in
the core (because of the weaker, oblique shocks out-
side the Mach discs). A second such traverse further
downstream, however, can show a rise in centre-line
total pressure. The peak total pressure (behind the
oblique shocks), however, will fall. The explanation
for this seems to be mixing across the slip line, caus-
ing a transfer of energy from the high-p0 outer region
to the lower-p0 core.
1.3 Organization of the review
The rapid mixing technologies that have been ident-
ified are organized in this review into the following
categories and sub-categories.
. Geometric modifications (section 2):
– non-circular sections (section 2.1);
W rectangular nozzles (section 2.1.1);
W triangular nozzles (section 2.1.2);
W diamond nozzles (section 2.1.3);
W elliptical nozzles (section 2.1.4);
– modified lips (section 2.2);
W lobed nozzles (section 2.2.1);
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105
Wnotched nozzles (section 2.2.2);
Wcastellated nozzles (section 2.2.3);
W indeterminate origin nozzles (section 2.2.4);
– excrescences (section 2.3);
W tabs (section 2.3.1);
W vortex generators (section 2.3.2);
W splitter plates (section 2.3.3).
. High shear stress mixing (section 3):
– counterflow (section 3.1);
– annular and co-annular jets (section 3.2);
– swirl (section 3.3).
. Normal stress mixing (section 4):
– pulsed jets (section 4.1).
. Self-acoustic excitation (section 5):
– using screech (section 5.1);
– using impingement tones (section 5.2);
– using a reflector (section 5.3).
. External acoustic excitation (section 6).
. Mechanically oscillated (section 7).
. Self-oscillated (section 8):
– flip-flop nozzle (section 8.1);
– whistler nozzle (section 8.2).
These should not be viewed as definitive; they are
merely convenient groupings for the identified
technologies. The first category, in particular, is
something of a catch-all, covering both devices for
generating streamwise vorticity in the jet shear
layer and non-circular nozzles, some of which gene-
rate enhanced mixing through transverse vorticity.
The following sections will discuss each of these
in turn.
2 GEOMETRIC MODIFICATIONS
This section considers relatively simple geometric
modifications to the basic circular-section conver-
gent or convergent – divergent nozzles which are the
standard forms used for most aircraft propulsion
applications. Three categories of modified geometry
have been considered: non-circular sections (section
2.1); modified lips (section 2.2), where the shape is
essentially circular but the edge of the nozzle exit is
varied in some way, and excrescences (section 2.3),
which are various forms of projection into the jet
flow. These are not rigid categories. For example,
lobed nozzles are considered under modified lips,
but in their most extreme form, they become highly
non-circular sections.
2.1 Non-circular sections
2.1.1 Rectangular nozzles
Rectangular nozzles are becoming increasingly
popular for military aircraft. The reasons for this
seem to be: firstly, they offer reduced radar signature;
Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part G: J. Aerospace Engineering
106 K Knowles and A J Saddington
secondly, limited thrust vectoring can be included
relatively easily (although lightweight, axisymmetric,
single, vectoring nozzles have now been produced).
Two other reasons for paying particular attention to
such nozzles are that they are currently in use on
‘stealthy’ aircraft (F-117A, F/A-22, B-2) and that
they have been used in conjunction with other
rapid mixing technologies (see, for example, sections
2.2.2 and 2.3.1).
For supercritical flows (beyond choking), a rec-
tangular nozzle will produce a smaller shock cell
length than the equivalent axisymmetric nozzle.
This is because the length of the shock cells is deter-
mined by nozzle height in the rectangular case. Thus,
one would expect shock cell spacing to reduce as
nozzle aspect ratio increases (for a given nozzle area).
The potential core of a jet from a round nozzle is, at
least to a good approximation, a cone and that from a
rectangular nozzle is a wedge. For the same nozzle
areas, the potential cores would be of the same
length if the mixing rates were the same. In this
case, the volume of the rectangular jet’s potential
core is greater than that for the round jet if its
aspect ratio is greater than 1.5, but its surface area
is greater for all aspect ratios. In other words, for
rectangular nozzles with aspect ratios of practical
interest, there would be an increase in potential
core volume and surface area if there were no
mixing improvement. This, however, is not the case
and rectangular jets exhibit increased mixing such
that their potential cores are about half the length
of those from circular nozzles (discussed sub-
sequently). In this case, the rectangular jet’s poten-
tial core will always have a smaller volume than
that of the circular jet (for the same An), but the
(total) surface area of the wedge-shaped core will
be greater than the conical surface area for nozzles
of aspect ratio greater than p. Thus, rectangular noz-
zles of aspect ratio greater than about 3 need to offer
reductions in potential core length of more than half
(near-field mixing improvement .100 per cent)
to
ensure a reduction in IR signature for all optical
thicknesses.
A low aspect ratio rectangular nozzle was tested at
low jet velocities by Quinn [12, 13]. He presented
detailed mean and turbulent velocity contours and
showed, by integrating the mean velocities, that the
entrainment was increased by comparison with a
circular nozzle. The relative increase seems to be
100 per cent. The reasons for increased entrainment
in non-circular jets are discussed in section 2.1.4.


As an illustration, for an aspect ratio of 7, the core length needs
to be less than one-third that of a round jet to give a reduction in
core surface area. The core volume will be reduced for any level of
mixing that gives .28 per cent reduction in core length.
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Quinn [14] also investigated high aspect ratio
(AR ¼ 20), low-speed jets from sharp-edged orifices
(which tend to give higher mixing than contoured
nozzles) and revealed that the near-field flow was
dominated by counter-rotating streamwise vortices,
which promoted rapid mixing. The rate of mixing
has been shown to increase with aspect ratio as
long as the jet remains three-dimensional. The
spread of the jet is not uniform in its two primary
planes: the height (minor axis) spreads monotoni-
cally, whereas the width (major axis) decreases for
the first 10– 15 equivalent diameters.
Tillman et al. [15] tested a supersonic, heated rec-
tangular jet as a baseline for comparison with rapid
mixing nozzles. They showed that the centre-line
total temperature decay for a nozzle of aspect ratio
3.7 gave a potential core which was shorter than
that of a circular nozzle by a factor of approximately
two.
Whilst rectangular nozzles have been shown to
improve mixing when compared with circular noz-
zles, there is usually a thrust penalty to pay for the
improved mixing. Ponton and Smith [16] quote
typical thrust losses of 5 per cent for a 6:1 aspect
ratio.
2.1.2 Triangular nozzles
A triangular nozzle has been tested at high pressure
ratios (but very small scales) by Teshima [17]. Only
flow visualization results were presented and no
indication was given of relative mixing rates. Quinn
[18] tested a turbulent, low-speed jet from a triangu-
lar, sharp-lipped orifice. Mass flux was not presented
but increased turbulence levels, compared with the
circular case, suggested improved mixing.
2.1.3 Diamond nozzles
A diamond-shaped nozzle has been tested by
Alvi et al. [19] for mean flow properties and by
Krothapalli et al. [20] for acoustic characteristics
at an exit Mach number of 2. They found evidence
of extra streamwise vorticity but no significant
overall increase in mixing compared with its ‘two-
dimensional and axisymmetric counterparts’. Jet
mixing noise, compared with an equivalent axisym-
metric jet, was slightly reduced (by up to 5 dB) in
selected planes only. The authors conclude that the
presence of streamwise vorticity in ideally- expanded
supersonic jets has very little effect on the aerody-
namic and noise fields of the jets. The key qualifica-
tion to this conclusion may be the terms in italics;
streamwise vorticity certainly seems to play an
important rôle in many rapid mixing schemes.
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 Review of jet mixing enhancement 107

2.1.4 Elliptical nozzles

Ho and Gutmark [21] studied a single elliptical jet
from a contoured nozzle of aspect ratio 2. They
revealed axis switching and showed that the mixing
rate was ‘several times’ higher than for a circular or
two-dimensional jet. The effect of jet aspect ratio
was subsequently discussed by Lee and Baek [22]
for a low-speed jet from a sharp-lipped orifice. Poten-
tial core lengths were found to be the same (based on
orifice minimum dimension and with equal equival-
ent diameter for all orifices). Elangovan et al. [23]
looked at the mixing rates of two closely spaced ellip-
tical jets from sharp-edged orifices. They compared
the jet mixing rate with that in reference [21], but
there are too many differences between the two
experiments for this to be meaningful.
Baty et al. [24] investigated a correctly expanded,
supersonic (Mn ¼ 1.5) jet from an elliptical nozzle
of aspect ratio 2. They were primarily concerned
Fig. 1 A typical lobed mixer nozzle with scarfed lobes.
with acoustics and jet stability analysis but they did
(Courtesy of Honeywell Engines & Systems,
present some data relevant to jet mixing. The jet
Phoenix, AZ)
potential core was shown to extend to only 5De.
Measurements of momentum thickness showed
that there was no tendency for the jet to distort in the latter case. The principle of operation seems,
until near the end of the potential core. at first sight, very simple – the lobed nozzle increases
In general, jets from rectangular nozzles spread the jet surface area compared with an equivalent cir-
faster than round jets and jets from elliptical noz- cular nozzle. As discussed below, however, this does
zles spread faster than those from rectangular noz- not explain all the increased entrainment; lobed
zles, at least initially. The explanation for this is nozzles also introduce streamwise vorticity [27 –30].
given by Quinn [13]. ‘Non-circular jets entrain Boundary layer growth [31] and heat release [32]
more ambient fluid than their circular counterparts have also been found to influence lobed nozzle
because of the non-uniform self-induction, brought performance.
about by azimuthal curvature variation, of the initial An extreme form of lobed nozzle, dubbed a ‘petal’
vortices generated at the nozzle exit plane. The non- nozzle has been tested by Srikrishnan et al. [33] in a
uniform self-induction causes the minor-axis sides, sonic freestream. They found that the lobed nozzle
with the lower curvature, to move faster than the increased mixing with the freestream by 200 per
major-axis sides and this generates a mechanism cent compared with a conical nozzle. They also
for pumping large amounts of ambient fluid into showed that increased surface area did not explain
the jets. The presence of flat sides and corners in the increased mixing: one of the lobed nozzles was
rectangular jets may, in the initial region, cause compared with a conical nozzle of equal perimeter
mass entrainment in these jets to be less than in and produced 100 per cent more mixing by 4.5
elliptical jets . . .’. nozzle diameters downstream.
Tillman et al. [15] tested various rapid mixing
nozzles including a notched rectangular nozzle and
a lobed rectangular nozzle. The latter was similar to
2.2 Modified lips
the ‘hypermixing nozzle’ described by Schetz [34].
2.2.1 Lobed nozzles Tillman et al. [15] found that the lobed nozzle
reduced the supersonic jet core length by about a
Lobed nozzles (Fig. 1) have long been used on civil factor of two compared with a datum rectangular
aircraft turbojet engines as jet noise suppressors nozzle. Note that this datum in turn had reduced
and, more recently, on the core of mixed-flow turbo- the potential core length by a factor of two compared
fans to enhance thermal efficiency [25] and fuel with a round nozzle.
injectors for improved combustion [26]. In both
cases, they work by promoting rapid mixing of the 2.2.2 Notched nozzles
propulsive jet with the freestream in the former
case and of the core jet flow with the annular fan Notched nozzles are formed by cutting V-shaped
flow before exhausting through a common nozzle notches into a nozzle lip (Fig. 2) and were

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108
Fig. 2 A generic four-notch nozzle [36]
investigated by Pannu and Johannesen [35] in con-
nection with the Concorde jet noise reduction pro-
gramme. They showed that each notch generated a
pair of strong contra-rotating streamwise vortices
(Fig. 3). These were felt to act as a shield for the
high-speed jet noise sources, thus producing a
reduction in jet noise in the plane of the notch(es).
More recently, further work has been carried out
on variations of Pannu and Johannesen’s basic
notched nozzle. Smith and Hughes [37] have
looked at forward flight effects and confirmed that
notched nozzles still generate vortices in the
presence of a co-flowing stream. Longmire et al.
[38, 39] have investigated ‘crown-shaped’ nozzles,
which were essentially notched nozzles with the
notches merged. Their tests were at low Reynolds
numbers and included external acoustic forcing in
some cases. They found significant deviations from
axisymmetry and longitudinal vortices present
whose stability and propagation pattern could be
Fig. 3 Schematic of the flow-field produced by a pair
of notches cut into an axisymmetric nozzle [35]
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K Knowles and A J Saddington
altered by altering tooth length and number. No
mass entrainment data were published.
Kaushik et al. [40] found that grooves cut into the
nozzle wall have a similar effect to notches in pro-
moting streamwise vorticity. At underexpanded
pressure ratios, nozzles with semi-circular and
rectangular grooves gave improved mixing when
compared with triangular grooves.
Bridges and Wernet [41] tested two different
notched nozzle designs on a podded turbofan
engine simulator. The notched nozzles were found
to reduce the mean velocity in the potential core
from a baseline 450 m/s to ,400 m/s. The notched
nozzles were also observed to significantly change
the turbulence intensity in the jet flowfield.
Following on from previous studies of trailing edge
modifications to rectangular nozzles [42, 43], Kim
et al. [44] investigated the effect of triangular and rec-
tangular notches on rectangular nozzles with a 3:1
aspect ratio. For the underexpanded case, strong
streamwise vortices were generated by the notches.
Apparent mixing improvement was determined
from images acquired by laser light sheet illumina-
tion of the jet cross-section.
Dix et al. [36] made spectroradiometer measure-
ments in the plume of a small-scale turbo-jet
engine fitted with various notched nozzles. They
showed that, when compared with an unmodified
convergent nozzle, the notches produced a ‘signifi-
cant reduction’ in spectral radiance in the 3 – 5 mm
band with minimal thrust loss.
2.2.3 Castellated nozzles
Castellated nozzles are produced by cutting rec-
tangular notches into the lip of a nozzle. At underex-
panded conditions, the jet expands outwards
through the cut-outs before it can expand at exit
from the teeth. This apparently generates streamwise
vortices at the junctions between teeth and cut-outs
and breaks up the coherent shear layer vortex struc-
ture at the nozzle lip. Miller [45] and Miller and Seel
[46] tested various tooth geometries (at jet exit Mach
numbers of 1 to 2 and at NPRs of up to 15) and found
that castellations increased jet mixing rate for highly
underexpanded jets, with more castellations being
beneficial in the near-field. Up to a 70 per cent
increase in entrainment was measured. Castellations
did not increase the mixing at Mn ¼ 1.8. Saddington
et al. [47] conducted experimental studies on several
castellated nozzle designs (Fig. 4). They verified the
increased mixing rate for highly underexpanded
jets, with peak increases in mass flow rate of 45 per
cent at a NPR of 6.5. They also showed that the gap
geometry between the castellations can have a
significant effect on jet mixing with divergent flow
paths giving better mixing performance.
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 Review of jet mixing enhancement 109

Fig. 4 An example of some of the castellated nozzles

tested by Saddington et al. [47]

2.2.4 Indeterminate origin nozzles

‘Indeterminate origin’ is a term proposed by Wlezien
and Kibens [48, 49] for nozzles which look like
extreme forms of castellated or notched nozzles
(Fig. 5).
The term has also been used by Longmire et al.
[38, 39] to describe their notched nozzles. In
reference [48] one ‘side’ of an axisymmetric nozzle
was cut away to leave either a step-like or slanting
exit plane. This concept was derived from two-
dimensional experiments on a so-called ‘lip jet’
(i.e. one lip further upstream than the other) which
revealed that velocity perturbations induced by one
shear layer could excite the other if they started at
different axial locations. Wlezien’s and Kibens’ [48]
tests were conducted at low velocity on an initially
laminar jet and revealed augmentation of the shear
layer growth resulting from self-excitation. No data
for jet mass entrainment were presented.

2.3 Excrescences
Enhanced jet mixing can be promoted by introdu-
cing excrescences into the jet flow which increase
the jet turbulence and/or large-scale shear layer
structure. This has been exploited in the past on air-
craft propulsion nozzles with ‘spade’ type jet noise
suppressors. These have had to be made retractable
because of the thrust penalty associated with pro-
tuberances in a high-speed propulsive stream. For
the present survey, three categories of excrescences
are considered: tabs, which are relatively bluff
objects; vortex generators, which are designed to
generate strong streamwise vortices; and splitter
plates, which can shed transverse vortices. The first
two of these categories overlap in some areas,
whereas the third should be considered together
with some of the hydrodynamic forcing schemes
discussed under section 7.
2.3.1 Tabs
The effect of wedge-shaped protrusions on the
development of a low-speed jet was investigated by
Bradbury and Khadem [50]. They found that the jet
Fig. 5 Various indeterminate origin nozzles as tested
by Wlezien and Kibens [49]
centre-line velocity decay rate was increased by the
wedges, with bluff, 908, wedges having the greatest
effect. The optimum configuration of these tabs
was two, diametrically opposed; this appeared to
halve the length of the jet potential core. The effect
of the tabs was seen to distort the jet perimeter.
Reeder and Samimy [51] conducting low-speed
experiments in water revealed that a pair of diametri-
cally opposed tabs ‘produces streamwise vorticity of
the Prandtl’s first kind’. A second set of streamwise
vortices was subsequently observed emanating
from each tab [52].
Ahuja and Brown [53] extended the study of
Bradbury and Khadem [50] to supersonic and under-
expanded, hot and cold jets. They confirmed that the
earlier low-speed results also applied to supersonic

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110
conditions and also showed a ‘considerable’
reduction in jet temperature and mixing enhance-
ment with tabs. Screech was reduced or even elimi-
nated, which has also been observed in later
studies [54]. The mechanisms proposed for this
enhanced mixing were: hydrodynamic excitation by
streamwise vortices; increased jet perimeter pro-
duced by interrupting the nozzle lip; extra shocks
generated by the tabs, thus slowing the jet. Ahuja
and Brown [53] suggested that the centre-line vel-
ocity decay they measured was better than that avail-
able from other rapid mixing technologies. No mass
flow data were presented. Mass flow data were, how-
ever, recorded in a similar study of underexpanded
jet mixing by Zaman et al. [55], where increases of
up to 50 per cent were observed for a two-tab
configuration.
Reeder and Zaman [56] investigated the effect of
steamwise tab location within the nozzle. They
observed that tabs located on the exit plane increased
entrainment into the jet, whereas tabs located further
upstream in the nozzle caused an ejection of core
fluid. A study of several different tab geometries by
Behrouzi and McGuirk [57] concluded that the
basic triangular flat plate tab gave the greatest
mixing enhancement when compared with three-
dimensional tab geometries, which were designed
to reduce thrust loss. Although the most widely
studied tab geometry consists of triangular shapes
introduced into the flow, experiments using
rectangular tabs have, however, been applied to
underexpanded [58, 59] and rectangular nozzles [60].
2.3.2 Vortex generators
Rogers and Parekh [61] used vortex generators in a
rectangular jet (aspect ratio 2:1) to increase the
entrainment by 50 per cent. Their jet was subsonic,
with an exit Mach number of 0.6, and the vortex
generators were half-delta wings. They considered
various combinations of vortex generators and
found that the greatest entrainment benefit came
when the vortices were orientated to provide a bulk
movement of fluid down through the jet. Potential
core length was reduced by up to half but this is
not a useful measure of mixing performance
for highly three-dimensional flows such as this –
integral measures are needed.
Rogers and Parekh [61] recognized the potential
thrust penalty of excrescences in a propulsion
stream and made an assessment of the effect of
their vortex generators. They measured a momen-
tum flux loss of ,5 per cent. This would probably
be quite unacceptable as a permanent thrust
reduction and so such vortex generation would
have to be considered as a temporary setting.
Vortex generating jets might be attractive here.
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K Knowles and A J Saddington
Rogers and Parekh [61] also measured the noise
of their jet and its various vortex generator configur-
ations. They found that the best noise reduction
came from the case which gave the poorest mass
entrainment augmentation. This may not be a gen-
eral conclusion but it is worth noting that increased
mixing does not necessarily lead to reduced jet
noise – a point noted by Krothapalli et al. [62]. The
best configuration here was that for which the gener-
ated vortices were orientated so as to move high-
speed jet fluid outwards, rather than low-speed
fluid inwards. Jet noise in the presence of vortex
generators has also been measured by Krishnappa
and Csanady [63], again for jet Mach numbers up
to about 0.6. They also found reductions in noise
intensity, although the composition of the noise
sources was not drastically modified.
One of the experimental techniques used by
Rogers and Parekh [61] to visualize mixing is
worthy of note. They filled their test chamber with
smoke and then injected the (clean) jet. This gave
dark regions for initially unmixed jet which was illu-
minated with a light sheet from a pulsed copper-
vapour laser, recorded on video via a CCD camera
and then digitized. This allowed the authors to
quantify the degree of mixing of the ambient fluid
into the jet.
Carletti et al. [64] extended their earlier work,
described above, to the case of an ejector. They con-
firmed that the mass flow rate of the ejector was
increased by using vortex generators at the exit of
the primary nozzle. Entrained mass flux increases
of up to 40 per cent were measured compared with
the baseline ejector. The most attractive feature of
this set-up, however, was that the vortex generators
showed the greatest mixing improvement for the
more compact ejectors.
The effect of vortex generators on the noise and
mixing of supersonic jets has been investigated by a
number of researchers. Samimy et al. [65] looked at
devices which they called vortex generators but
which were closer to modified tabs (q.v.); each of
these devices produced two streamwise vortices.
Their nozzle had a design Mach number of 1.36
and tests were conducted from subsonic up to
highly underexpanded conditions. One-, two-, and
four-tab configurations were investigated and it
was found that the tabs eliminated screech noise.
Two tabs were found to bifurcate the jet at all Mach
numbers and this effect persisted downstream. The
distortions produced by one and four tabs, however,
disappeared within 16 nozzle diameters. Both the
two- and four-tab configurations increased jet
mixing, whereas the single tab actually reduced
entrainment.
Samimy et al. [65] assessed mixing enhancement
by measuring axial velocity profiles and integrating
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to 10 per cent of peak velocity. (They found that by
integrating to 5 per cent of peak velocity the mass
fluxes increased by 4 per cent.) Up to four radial
profiles had to be used for these integrations because
of the lack of axisymmetry. To determine velocity
profiles, they used pitot traverses in the region of
the jet downstream of the supersonic core; this led
to mass flux plots which started at 14 diameters
downstream of the nozzle. At this point, the datum
nozzle at Mn ¼ 1.63 showed about 2.9 times nozzle
exit mass flux, with two tabs this was increased to
3.2 (10 per cent improvement in entrainment) and
with four tabs to 3.5 (20 per cent improvement).
(By comparison, a subsonic jet at Mn ¼ 0.5 would
have about 4.5 times nozzle exit mass flux at the
same streamwise position.) The one-tab configur-
ation showed only 2.5 times nozzle exit mass flux.
No explanation was offered for this reduction in
mixing over the datum. By 30 nozzle diameters
downstream, the four-tab configuration had not
sustained its mixing improvement and the two-tab
arrangement was the best there.
Following on from their previous work, Zaman
et al. [55] tested ‘delta-tabs’ which were in the form
of inverted delta wings (again shedding two vortices
each) at an angle of attack of 21358. Four of these
devices at the exit of an axisymmetric nozzle at
Mn ¼ 1.35 increased the relative mass flux at 14Dn
to 4.3 times the nozzle exit value – an increase of
nearly 50 per cent over the datum.
Zaman et al. [55] also presented some jet centre-
line data which are interesting, although they
need treating with caution because of the three-
dimensional nature of many of the flowfields. From
a centre-line pitot pressure plot, it can be seen that
the datum jet (at Mn ¼ 1.63) had a supersonic core
extending to about 10Dn, whereas the four-tab con-
figuration reduced this to about 6Dn and the two-
tab configuration reduced it to 3Dn. This latter
result is due to the complete bifurcation of the jet
and is not an accurate indication of the overall
mixing enhancement. Similarly, the authors pre-
sented a comparison with previous rapid mixing
schemes on the basis of jet centre-line relative
Mach number at 9Dn.
A combined study of tabs and acoustic excitation
was conducted by Zaman and Raman [66]. The
same nozzle/tab configuration of reference [55]
was combined with two electro-pneumatic actuators
which excited a resonance in the upstream plenum
chamber. The excitation ‘involved subharmonic res-
onance that manifested in a periodic vortex pairing
in the near flowfield’. Both the excitation and tabs
caused increased jet spreading (the tabs having
greatest influence); however, a combination of the
two reduced jet spreading when compared with
the tabs on their own. This was attributed to an
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111
interaction between the vortices produced by the
excitation and those produced by the tabs.
Krothapalli et al. [62] considered various means for
generating streamwise vortices in hot and cold super-
sonic jets, including counterflow (q.v.) and small
vortex generators formed from triangular tape
elements on the nozzle inner wall. They showed that
delta-tabs reduced shock-associated noise but
increased turbulent mixing noise and concluded
overall that increased mixing does not necessarily
lead to reduced far-field noise levels. The perform-
ance of the ‘low-thrust-loss’ vortex generators, made
out of triangular tape elements, was examined in
more detail by King et al. [67]. The reasoning behind
these devices was that they would act to amplify natu-
rally occurring streamwise vortices which have been
found in the shear layers of axisymmetric supersonic
jets. The size of the vortex generators was very small,
with a depth of only 0.2 per cent of the nozzle diam-
eter. On the basis of this small blockage, the authors
assumed that they caused a negligible thrust loss.
No measure of mass flux entrainment was presented,
but centre-line Mach number was plotted at a stream-
wise position of 15Dn. At this position the datum jet
had a Mach number of nearly 1.39 which was reduced
to about 1.31 by adding six or seven vortex generators;
two vortex generators only reduced this Mach
number to about 1.365. These are much less dramatic
reductions than were produced by the delta tabs, for
example, but the thrust loss is certainly much less.
Farokhi et al. [68] have presented preliminary
results for what they term a ‘smart, supersonic
vortex generator’. This is a small delta-shaped
cavity which, in principle, could be actively con-
trolled. Experiments have shown that this generates
a pair of contra-rotating streamwise vortices but
the effect of these on jet mixing has not been
published yet.
2.3.3 Splitter plates
The introduction of a splitter plate into a jet appears
to enhance mixing through the shedding of trans-
verse (or circumferential, depending on the geo-
metry) vortices. Brown and Ahuja [69] introduced a
ring into the outer stream of a co-annular jet to
generate wake vortices designed to act as a shear
layer excitation mechanism. This was prompted by
analogy with external acoustic excitation and the
vortex shedding frequency was tuned to the most
preferred frequency of the jet. Increased mixing
was shown, although no mass flux data were pre-
sented. Results were only obtained for subsonic jets.
Quinn [70] has measured the development of the
flowfield from what he termed an ‘interrupted jet’.
This was a low-speed (60 m/s) slot jet of aspect
ratio 50 which was divided into four jets of aspect
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ratio 11 by three splitter plates. Again, no mass flow
data were presented but a centre-line velocity plot
shows the ‘interrupted jet’ decaying much more
rapidly over the first 5 –10 equivalent diameters
than an aspect ratio 10 slot jet. Far downstream
(of the order of 50 equivalent diameters), however,
the two give almost identical velocities.
Ahuja et al. [71] tested supersonic rectangular jets
with splitter plates parallel to the width of the
nozzle (that is, a 908 rotation compared with the split-
ter plates of Quinn [70]). Mixing enhancement was
‘considerable’ and supersonic jet noise was reduced
by as much as 10 dB. Thicker splitter plates produced
larger reductions in noise. It was noted that mixing
appeared to be most significant when the splitter
plates were vibrating. At subsonic conditions, the
splitter plates generated high intensity tones, jet
broadband noise was increased and in some cases
plate resonance led to structural failure.
Splitter plates have also been used to enhance
mixing in compressible shear layers [72] with a
view to potential scramjet combustion chamber
applications. Increases in mixing layer growth rates
of up to 380 per cent were claimed. This was for a
Mach 1 helium jet in a Mach 2.5 air flow and the
most effective ‘splitter plates’ were, in fact, three-
dimensional and should be classified as lobed
mixers.
Sreejith and Rathakrishnan [73] examined the
effect of attaching a 0.5 and 0.7 mm thick wire dia-
metrically across the exit plane of three conver-
gent – divergent nozzles, giving blockage area ratios
of between 5 and 8 per cent. The streamwise vortices
introduced by the cross-wire were found to increase
the decay of the jet centre-line total pressure.
Reductions of up to 35 per cent in jet core length
were determined.
3 HIGH SHEAR STRESS MIXING
On the basis that a low shear stress will lead to low
mixing rates, it might be supposed that rapid
mixing can be promoted by increasing the shear
stress. This is true up to a point, and a number of
schemes have been proposed which appear to
exploit this concept. It should be borne in mind,
however, that supersonic jets spread less rapidly
than subsonic ones; also, some of the schemes
described below involve more than just increased
shear stress.
3.1 Counterflow
Counterflow can be produced by placing an annular
collar around the exit of an axisymmetric nozzle and
applying suction (Fig. 6). Experiments on such a
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Fig. 6 Axisymmetric nozzle-collar arrangement used
to create counterflow in a supersonic jet [76]
device have been reported by Strykowski and
Wilcoxon [74] who used an initially laminar, round
primary jet at speeds up to 60 m/s and suction
velocities through the collar of up to 60 per cent of
the primary jet velocity. Enhanced entrainment was
observed but not quantified. This technique is
described by the authors as a passive means of
enhancing mixing, which seems a misnomer given
the power required for suction, and appears to
work by exciting instability modes in the jet shear
layer. ‘Powerful oscillations’ were observed in the
jet with counterflow and these were felt to be respon-
sible for the enhanced entrainment.
The concept of counterflow was extended to super-
sonic jets by Strykowski et al. [75] who tested jets up
to Mach numbers of 1.2 and temperatures of 673 8C.
They confirmed that counterflow increased mixing
and noted that it became more effective as jet temp-
erature increased. Mass flux increases were not
calculated but the authors have presented the peak
Mach number at 9Dn downstream compared with
the nozzle exit value (for Mn ¼ 0.8); this is the same
measure of mixing enhancement quoted by Zaman
et al. [55] for ‘delta-tabs’. It had previously been
shown that optimal acoustic excitation could pro-
duce a relative Mach number of 0.65 at this point;
Zaman et al. [55] showed results for tabs which
reduced this to 0.5; Strykowski et al. [75] have
shown values of 0.45 to 0.3 for relative suction vel-
ocities of 10 to 20 per cent (of the primary jet
velocity).
The noise of cold and heated Mach 2 jets with
counterflow was assessed by King et al. [77]. They
found that the length of the jet’s potential core was
reduced by a factor of two but the root mean square
(r.m.s.) sound pressure levels were increased with
counterflow. Their acoustic data suggested that this
increase in noise was due to the elevated turbulence
levels, which more than offset the reduction in the
component of noise due to Mach wave radiation.
Strykowski et al. [78] investigated the role of velo-
city ratio on supersonic jet mixing. They showed
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that counterflow can increase supersonic jet
diffusion by up to 100 per cent. Most recently, the
physics of counterflow has been discussed in detail
by Strykowski et al. [76]. Again, there was no direct
assessment of mass entrainment levels. The major
practical question with this scheme, however, is
what the thrust penalty is for applying counterflow.
3.2 Annular and co-annular jets
Annular jets exhibit increased decay rates compared
with circular jets of equivalent area. This is at least
partly due to the high total shear caused by the
greater surface area. A detailed description of the
physics of annular jets and an extensive literature
review is given by Kirkham [79], to which the
reader is referred. Annular jets have also been con-
sidered in concert with other rapid mixing technol-
ogies and these will be discussed under the relevant
headings. In the general case of a co-annular jet,
numerical results for low Reynolds numbers have
been calculated by Salvetti et al. [80] and Salvetti
and Lombardi [81].
3.3 Swirl
Swirl has long been used in combustion chambers to
provide efficient mixing and flame stabilization (see,
for example, Lilley [82]). This latter is achieved by
using high swirl velocities which leads to axial flow
reversal on the jet centre-line; a condition which
would probably need to be avoided in a propulsive
stream, at least near the nozzle exit. In fact, any
swirl in propulsive jets is actively avoided by engine
designers who place exit guide vanes after the last
turbine stage to de-swirl the flow. The reason for
this is the loss of thrust which is inherent if some of
the jet’s momentum is tangential. In the 1970s, how-
ever, swirl was studied as a possible means of redu-
cing jet noise during the Concorde noise reduction
programme. This seems to have been prompted by
experimental, full-scale engine studies by Schwartz
[83, 84], which appeared to show jet noise reductions
in the presence of swirl. Subsequent work, however,
questioned the validity of Schwartz’s noise compari-
sons [85].
One important consideration in understanding the
behaviour of swirling flow is the radial variation of
swirl velocity. In combustion chamber studies, it is
common to use some form of integral ‘swirl
number’ to characterize the flow. Although this is a
convenient, single-number parameter, it does not
distinguish between certain swirl velocity profiles
which may have quite different thrust characteristics.
Other possible swirl parameters have been discussed
by Carpenter [86].
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As part of the Concorde noise studies referred
to above, Carpenter [87] started by analysing the
different types of swirling flows, primarily from an
inviscid standpoint. Carpenter and Johannesen [88]
then reviewed the literature on swirling propulsive
jets, showing the flaws in the previous analyses,
before extending the classical one-dimensional
theory for choked, convergent –divergent nozzles to
the swirling case. They showed the effect of swirl
on the nozzle’s sonic line shape, mass flux, and
impulse function and concluded that swirl need
not reduce a nozzle’s specific thrust significantly.
On the basis of this earlier work, Carpenter sub-
sequently extended his inviscid, quasi-cylindrical
theory to other cases of practical interest: conver-
gent – divergent nozzles with radial gradients of
entropy and stagnation enthalpy [86]; subcritical,
convergent nozzle flows [89]; supercritical, conver-
gent – divergent nozzle flows [90]; and supercritical
convergent nozzle flows [91]. The approach was
further extended to annular nozzles by Knowles
and Carpenter [92], who then assessed the impli-
cations for engine component matching if swirl was
used for nozzle mass flux control [93]. This body of
work has allowed the influence of swirl on nozzle
performance to be assessed analytically and has led
to recommendations for preferred swirl profiles
offering low thrust loss.
The key to analysing swirling propulsive jets is the
choice of which parameters to keep constant
between swirling and non-swirling cases. Carpenter
has argued convincingly that the NPR should be
kept constant. On this basis, it can be shown that
specific thrust can actually be increased by swirl
(see, for example, reference [93]).
In terms of supersonic jet noise suppression, the
potential role of swirl is in modifying the shock cell
structure. Carpenter [94] showed that, in principle,
shock-associated noise could be completely elimi-
nated with only a modest thrust penalty. The prin-
ciple of modifying the shock cell structure using
swirl has been confirmed experimentally by Smith
[95], using schlieren, and by Whitfield [96], who
also confirmed noise reductions but found that the
directivity was not practically useful for aircraft
noise certification. This and other relevant work on
noise of swirling jets have been summarized by
Knowles [97].
Der et al. [98] applied swirl to a 4:1 aspect ratio rec-
tangular nozzle in water tunnel experiments. Their
results indicated that the swirl split up to form two
co-rotating vortices which filled the rectangular
nozzle. Smaller, contra-rotating vortices were also
observed. With a higher aspect ratio nozzle (10:1),
these smaller vortices became more prominent.
Chu et al. [99] used a similar set-up to show that
swirl dramatically reduced the length of the potential
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114
core in a rectangular jet. The swirl produced by (very
modest) 7.58 vanes was sufficient to halve the length
of the core. It should be noted that no assessment of
thrust was made in these studies and that the swirl
profile was neither designed nor measured, it was
whatever the swirler vanes produced.
Farokhi et al. [100] set out to introduce specified
swirl velocity profiles into a subsonic turbulent jet
and then measure its development. They showed
that the swirling jet near-field (within 5Dn of the
nozzle) strongly depended on the initial swirl profile.
They also concluded that the swirl number was an
entirely inadequate measure of jet behaviour,
which depended on detailed swirl profile not integral
swirl level – a point made above. Wu et al. [101]
made the point that swirling jet mixing is predomi-
nantly driven in the near-field by axial and radial
static pressure gradients, in contrast to non-swirling
jets which are driven by turbulent mixing.
Swirl has also been investigated together with other
rapid mixing techniques for subsonic jets. Taghavi
et al. [102] and Farokhi et al. [103] showed that exter-
nal plane-wave acoustic excitation could further
increase the spreading rate of a swirling jet, giving a
10 per cent reduction in mean centre-line velocity at
9Dn. This was felt to be a ‘remarkable’ result because
the swirling jet’s preferred instability is a helical
mode. Gursul [104] used non-axisymmetric forcing
to promote increased mixing of a swirling jet; very
low forcing amplitudes were required. Ribeiro and
Whitelaw [105] and Singh et al. [106] looked at swirl
effects on co-axial jets and confirmed that mixing
was further enhanced by swirl, although in neither
case were variations in swirl profile considered.
Supersonic swirling jets have been investigated
experimentally by a number of authors, most
recently Hailey [107] who confirmed that swirl
changes shock structure (as shown by Smith [95]).
NPRs of 2.4, 3.0, and 3.7 were used. The authors
have not, however, presented any quantification of
the level of swirl involved, much less identified the
swirl profile (the most outstanding feature of this
study is the large number of authors relative to the
small number of results). Cutler et al. [108] studied
supersonic (Mach number about 2.2) jets with a
view to scramjet combustion applications. Swirl
was produced by tangential blowing and they
claimed to have produced higher swirl velocities
than previous studies using swirl vanes. Again, swirl
was shown to increase mixing rates, probably
through curvature-related instability in the shear
layer. At certain pressure ratios, vortex breakdown
occurred and this provided a further mixing
enhancement. As pointed out before, however, it is
unlikely that this would be a practical proposal for
propulsive jets due to the probable levels of thrust
reduction, although this does not seem to have
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K Knowles and A J Saddington
been something which has been investigated
experimentally.
Swirl has been applied to the shear layers of jets in
a number of studies. Frank and Taghavi [109] intro-
duced swirl into the boundary layers of rectangular
plain and notched nozzles using small vanes. They
confirmed that the notches increased the mixing
rate of supersonic jets and that swirl produced a
further and significant increase. In this paper, mass
flow rate was measured and its development with
downstream position plotted from just under 6 to
just over 22 equivalent diameters downstream of
the nozzle. At 9De, the datum circular nozzle had a
mass flow ratio (relative to nozzle exit) of about 2;
for the rectangular nozzle, this was about 2.6 (30
per cent increase) and the addition of swirl or
notches raised this to about 3 (a further 15 per cent
increase). Further upstream and for downstream
positions of more than 14De, notches entrained
more mass flow than did shear layer swirl. Interest-
ingly, shear layer swirl did not produce a significant
near-field effect, unlike bulk swirling of the jet.
Mostafa et al. [110] used devices, which they called
‘vortex generating jets’ (VGJs), to induce swirl into a
small (13 mm), low speed (17 m/s) jet. The velocity
ratio between the VGJs and the main jet was unity
and the cross-section of the VGJs relative to the
main jet was 9.5 per cent. The VGJs did not induce
a bulk swirl, even though they were co-rotating, but
rather they broke the jet into a series of vortices
equal to the number of generator jets. The divergence
angle of the jet was seen to increase by about 28 and
the potential core length was reduced. No integral
measures of mixing performance were presented.
There have been a limited number of studies of the
IR signature of swirling jets. Ponton and Smith [111]
tested a small-scale turbojet with swirling nozzle
flows. An attempt was made to measure swirl angles
using flow visualization on the nozzle wall, with
angles of up to 358 being indicated, but this is an
unreliable method because of the effect of boundary
layers on streamline curvature and it gives no indi-
cation of swirl profile. The tests showed that fitting
turbine exit guide vanes (to reduce nozzle swirl) had
the effect of increasing IR signature. Small thrust
increases were measured when swirl was removed,
together with a ‘minor reduction in entrainment’.
4 NORMAL STRESS MIXING
4.1 Pulsed jets
Pulsing was investigated by Binder and Favre-
Marinet [112] as a means of increasing mixing for a
low speed jet (6 – 20 m/s). The jet was pulsed using
a butterfly valve at frequencies of up to 200 Hz,
giving Strouhal numbers up to 0.8, and r.m.s.
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amplitudes of up to 40 per cent. Mean velocity
measurements were quoted by the authors as
showing that the potential core extended to only
1Dn in the presence of ‘large amplitude pulsations’,
compared with a core length of 5 –6Dn for a steady-
state jet. Entrainment rates are quoted (non-
dimensional rate of change of jet flux with
downstream position) for a steady jet (0.3), a pulsed
jet at 0.24 Strouhal number and 19 per cent r.m.s.
pulsation amplitude (0.44), and a pulsed jet at 0.35
Strouhal number and 29 per cent r.m.s. pulsation
amplitude (0.57). This suggests that a 90 per cent
increase in entrainment is possible with pulsing. It
should be pointed out, however, that the authors
take their datum entrainment rates from the litera-
ture so it is not possible to determine how much of
the increase is due to pulsation and how much to
small differences in boundary condition.
Kouros et al. [113] reported a water tank experi-
ment on an impulsively started jet. They used dye
flow visualization and measured the edge of the jet
to determine spreading angle. Surprisingly, given
the results of Binder and Favre-Marinet [112] for a
pulsed jet, they found that jet spreading angle was
about half of that for a steady jet. The authors offer
some speculative explanations for this result which,
however, does not seem to be relevant to the current
applications.
Farrington and Claunch [114] pulsed a low speed
planar jet (Reynolds number about 7000) at sub-
audible frequencies using a rotating disc in the air
supply. They found that pulsations at a Strouhal
number of 0.112 reduced the decay rate of the jet
by 4 per cent, whereas Strouhal numbers of 0.168
or higher produced increased axial velocity decay
rates of up to 50 per cent more than the datum.
Surprisingly, pulsed jets have been used in flight:
they appeared on the German V1 of World War 2.
No data have been found on the mixing rates of
these jets, but it is believed that their propulsive
efficiency was relatively poor.
The application of a secondary pulsed jet acting
normal to the primary jet was studied by Smith
et al. [115]. The numerical results appear to show
much increased spreading of the primary jet,
although it is not apparent whether this is due to
flapping of the primary jet or an actual increase in
mixing. Comparisons with limited experimental
data showed qualitative agreement in terms of
centre-line temperatures.
Nedungadi et al. [116] performed numerical simu-
lations of an array of synthetic jets arranged azimuth-
ally around a convergent nozzle. Forcing the natural
oscillation mode of the jet reduced the length of the
potential core by a factor of four and appeared to
have some influence on high frequency noise
reduction. Direct numerical simulations of a low
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115
Reynolds number (3.6  103) jet forced at Strouhal
numbers of 0.2 and 0.4 also showed jet flapping
[117]. Jet mixing (quantified with integral methods)
revealed some enhancement, particularly for St ¼ 0.2.
5 SELF-ACOUSTIC EXCITATION
It is now well known that enhanced mixing can be
produced in shear layers by exciting natural instabil-
ity modes. This section will discuss various
approaches which have been investigated for doing
this using the jet’s own acoustic field or an enhance-
ment to this acoustic field.
5.1 Using screech
Krothapalli et al. [118] investigated an under-
expanded, rectangular jet from a nozzle of aspect
ratio 16.7. They found a large increase in the spread-
ing angle of the jet at the pressure ratio correspond-
ing to screech. Thus, at NPR ¼ 2.7, the total
spreading angle (apparently in the direction of the
narrow dimension of the nozzle) was 258; at
NPR ¼ 5.4, it had fallen to 208; and at NPR ¼ 3.8,
the condition for maximum screech, it was 368. At
this condition, schlieren pictures revealed a very
strong organized cylindrical wave pattern on either
side of the jet, with their sources located at the end
of the third shock cell. Such a wave pattern was
found in both planes of the jet but with different
locations in the two planes. The characteristic Strou-
hal number of these wave structures was found to be
the same in both planes and equal to 0.12.
Raman and Rice [119] investigated the instability
modes excited by screech in an underexpanded jet
from a rectangular nozzle of aspect ratio 9.63. They
found that the instability mode observed in the jet
shear layer at the screech frequency was anti-
symmetric (i.e. a sinuous wave) about the smaller
dimension of the jet, whereas its harmonic was sym-
metric (i.e. varicose behaviour). The same character-
istics were found for the screech tone noise and its
harmonic. The authors did not investigate mixing
characteristics of the jet.
Taghavi and Raman [120], on the other hand,
attempted to make use of screech to enhance the
mixing in a linear array of rectangular jets. Each
nozzle was of aspect ratio 5, the jet fully expanded
Mach number was 1.61, and the nozzle spacing had
to be carefully adjusted to produce synchronized
screech. The average nozzle spacing for this condition
was 9.084 nozzle heights but the actual gaps varied
along the nozzle row (9.037, 9.173, 9.041). Details of
how these spacings were arrived at were given by
Raman and Taghavi [121]. It is noted that the spacing
used here is rather large for practical applications.
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To assess the effect of this synchronized screeching
on jet mixing, a datum was established by suppressing
the screech tones. This was done by cancelling the
screech tone near the nozzle lip using a reflecting
baffle upstream of the nozzle exit plane. This reduced
the screech tone amplitude from about 160 dB (at
6748 Hz) to ,150 dB. The authors measured mass
flux, relative to nozzle exit, and compared it for the
synchronized and suppressed screech cases with that
from an equivalent single rectangular nozzle case
(same aspect ratio as the individual nozzles, same
total area as the four-nozzle configuration) which
was also undergoing screech. At 2De downstream of
nozzle exit, the equivalent nozzle had a mass flow
ratio of about 2.65, whereas the array of nozzles with
suppressed screech had increased this to about 3.05
(15 per cent improvement, but reducing further down-
stream) and with synchronized screech, it was about
3.4 (28 per cent increase over the single nozzle).
Mahadevan et al. [122] also found increased
mixing with screech. In their case, the planar jet
was confined and the mixing layer augmentation
was produced by reflecting a screech tone. They
measured up to 100 per cent increase in mixing
layer augmentation. This experimental setup was
not directly applicable to propulsive jets and had
much in common with the following sections, as
the authors note that the screech tone was not the
primary excitation mechanism.
The use of a screech reflector with a concave ellip-
tic profile was found by Kim et al. [123] to increase jet
mixing from a small-scale (10 mm diameter) nozzle.
The reflector was designed to focus acoustic waves
onto the nozzle lip thereby acting to destabilize the
large-scale structures in the shear layer. Mass flux
was increased by up to 70 per cent.
A detailed review of screech, including appli-
cations to jet mixing, is given by Raman [124].
5.2 Using impingement tones
In the cases where a natural screech tone does not
exist, it is possible to induce a screech-like tone
using the edge-tone concept. This was tried exper-
imentally by Krothapalli et al. [125]. They showed
that the mixing of multiple subsonic rectangular
jets was improved when a wedge was placed in one
of them.
Raman and Rice [126] investigated mixing
enhancement in a rectangular, supersonic jet
(nearly correctly expanded with Mn ¼ 1.392) using
impingement tones from a variety of different
shaped obstacles. Intense impingement tones were
produced which excited the jet’s anti-symmetric
mode (flapping). This violent flapping, together
with the unsteady wakes from the obstacle produced
large changes in jet mixing. Frequency and
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K Knowles and A J Saddington
amplitude of the impingement tones were controlled
by varying the nozzle-to-obstacle spacing and the
obstacle immersion (quantified by the relative
velocity sensed on the obstacle).
Raman and Rice have quoted earlier results show-
ing thrust losses of 20 per cent for square-shaped
tone generators, due to drag on the obstacle. For
the study by Raman and Rice [126], thrust losses
varied between 14 per cent (for a bevelled square
obstacle) and ,1 per cent (for a diamond aerofoil).
Increases in mass flux (at x/De ¼ 5) varied from 6
to 31 per cent (compared with the basic rectangular
jet). The authors defined a thrust loss-adjusted
mixing benefit parameter (the fractional change in
relative mass flux at x/De ¼ 5 compared with the
fractional thrust loss). On the basis of this parameter,
a diamond aerofoil would give the highest figure of
merit (8.5), but this is due to its very low thrust
loss, the mixing enhancement of 8.2 per cent was
not adjudged to be attractive for practical appli-
cations. A biconvex aerofoil, with a figure of merit
of only 5.35, was felt by Raman and Rice to be prefer-
able because of its greater mixing enhancement
(17.13 per cent). Thus the authors, quite rightly,
undermine their own figure of merit.
5.3 Using a reflector
Glass [127], in investigating some anomalous impin-
gement pressure data for supersonic jets discovered
that jet mixing could be dramatically altered by
placing an acoustic reflector near the nozzle exit.
The reflector was a simple board placed beside the
nozzle lip, initially at an angle of 458 to the jet axis
but for the majority of tests normal to the jet axis.
With this present, an intense screech tone was heard
and velocities on the jet centre-line were found to
decrease by up to 50 per cent (at x/Dn ¼ 15), with
jet spreading increased by 50 per cent.
Raman et al. [128] investigated the influence of an
upstream reflector on the screech characteristics of a
jet issuing from a rectangular nozzle. They confirmed
that a reflector could be used to amplify or suppress
screech and that relocation of the reflector device by
one quarter of the acoustic wavelength changed
screech from a maximum to a minimum. They also
showed that an annular gap between the reflector
and the nozzle would limit the ability to suppress
screech. Furthermore, Raman et al. [128] discovered
that it was a standing wave and not a travelling wave
which was responsible for generating screech.
6 EXTERNAL ACOUSTIC EXCITATION
Crow and Champagne [129] established experimen-
tally that large scale structures could be triggered in
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 Review of jet mixing enhancement
turbulent shear layers by external excitation applied
at appropriate frequencies (the preferred frequencies
of natural instability modes). For the present report,
external acoustic excitation refers to excitation of the
jet shear layer provided by an external acoustic
source (i.e. not the jet itself), very often a loudspeaker
or series of loudspeakers, outside the jet or in the
nozzle settling chamber. There are many papers in
the literature where such excitation has been used
to study the fundamentals of jet mixing; the present
discussion will generally be limited to those which
have specifically addressed jet mixing enhancement.
Crow and Champagne [129] showed that a sinu-
soidal ‘surging’ of the mean nozzle exit velocity
with an r.m.s. amplitude of 2 per cent at a Strouhal
number of 0.3 could increase the jet flowrate by 32
per cent. When this Strouhal number was doubled
the jet acted as a ‘compound amplifier’ forming a
‘violent’ subharmonic at a Strouhal number of 0.3
and showing a large increase in spreading angle. It
should be noted that Crow and Champagne [129]
forced their jet using a loudspeaker in the air
supply upstream of the nozzle and its plenum.
Vlasov and Ginevskiy [130] showed that external
acoustic excitation could be used to generate or sup-
press turbulence in an axisymmetric jet. Suppression
of turbulence was investigated further for different
jet geometries by Zaman and Hussain [131]. Fiedler
and Korschelt [132] investigated a slot jet to which
they applied acoustic excitation just downstream of
the nozzle exit. They found that jet spreading was
increased by the excitation but cautioned that the
visual increase in spreading deduced from a long-
exposure photograph or statistical average velocity
profile was greater than the increase in entrainment.
At low forcing frequencies, the jet was caused to flap
but the increase in mixing was low.
Cohen and Wygnanski [133] considered the effect
of non-linear wave interactions on an axisymmetric
jet. They showed that the mean flow lost its axisym-
metry whenever the jet was excited simultaneously
by two different azimuthal modes of the same fre-
quency. Parekh et al. [134] also looked at the effect
of two simultaneous excitation modes. They sub-
jected a round, low-Reynolds number, submerged
water jet to a combination of streamwise and trans-
verse excitation. The former was provided by a loud-
speaker upstream of the nozzle and the latter by
oscillating a ring around the nozzle exit. When the
ratio of these two excitation frequencies was 2, the
authors found that the jet ‘bifurcated’ into two dis-
tinct jets. Spreading angles were increased up to
758, but no measure of mass entrainment was
quoted.
Raman et al. [135] investigated whether acoustic
excitation might still be applicable for operating
propulsive jets where the turbulence intensities are
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117
typically in the range 3 – 15 per cent. In comparison,
laboratory-scale experiments usually have turbu-
lence intensities of 0.5 per cent or less. To this end
they tested subsonic jets (Mn ¼ 0.3, generally) with
nozzle exit turbulence intensities of 0.15 per cent
up to 5 per cent. Reynolds numbers were around
6  105. Surprisingly, and contrary to earlier work,
the unexcited jet evolution did not vary with turbu-
lence intensity, so long as the state of the nozzle
exit boundary layer was turbulent.
Interestingly, Raman et al. [135] found that an
initially laminar jet decayed faster than the turbulent
cases (mainly through an upstream shift of the vir-
tual origin but there was also a higher decay rate in
the developed jet). A given excitation frequency and
amplitude caused the same decay rate in laminar
and turbulent cases, thus the laminar jet experienced
a smaller effect of excitation and was, therefore,
deemed to be less excitable.
For the turbulent jets, Raman et al. [135] showed
that even the highest turbulence intensity jet could
be measurably influenced by a plane wave tone (i.e.
single frequency excitation) of small amplitude
(down to 0.25 per cent of Vj). However, jet excitability
reduced as turbulence intensity increased leading to
increased amplitudes of excitation being needed to
achieve the same effect. This could be a significant
result in terms of application to full-scale jets, for
which very high sound power levels could be
required. The frequency of the most effective exci-
tation did not change with initial turbulence inten-
sity: it was at about St ¼ 0.5 when excitation
amplitude was held constant in terms of nozzle exit
sound pressure level; it changed to St ¼ 0.6 –0.7
when the amplitude was constant in terms of the vel-
ocity fluctuation. The latter was felt to be the more
correct basis for comparison. There was also a limit
to the jet excitability, beyond which increasing
excitation amplitudes did not increase mixing.
Raman and Rice [136] excited a circular air jet
simultaneously with two harmonically related
tones. They quoted earlier results for single-tone,
plane-wave excitation for which the mean jet velocity
at x/Dn ¼ 9 was reduced by 15 per cent. This was felt
to be insufficiently attractive to pursue for practical
applications. Two-frequency excitation, however,
was found to be more effective in enhancing jet
mixing; no figures were quoted by the authors but
visual inspection of their graphical results suggests
that the single-frequency velocity reduction was
doubled. Raman et al. [137] extended the above
work to multi-modal excitation by including both
axisymmetric and azimuthal forcing. Again, higher
spreading rates were obtained with two-frequency
excitation and multi-modal excitation allowed
an extension of the area of control. The plane-wave
excitation enhanced mixing up to the end of the
Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part G: J. Aerospace Engineering
118 K Knowles and A J Saddington
potential core and the helical modes caused the jet to
flap beyond the potential core.
Matta et al. [138] studied the effects of modulated
transverse acoustic excitation on a subsonic, round
jet. The excitation was used on a jet discharging
into a rectangular duct with a square cross-section.
The excitation caused the jet to flap near the nozzle
exit and bifurcate and swirl further downstream. It
was determined that mixing enhancement was
strongly dependent on the jet Strouhal number,
with the greatest benefit between 0.3 , St , 0.4.
It is notable that all these studies of acoustic forcing
have been on subsonic jets. The reason for this is
given by Wilson et al. [139]. ‘Subsonic jets at low to
intermediate Mach numbers are responsive to acoustic
forcing through formation of coherent vortex structures
in the shear layers. Small amounts of excitation, typi-
cally less than a few per cent of the mean flow velocity,
can dramatically alter the flowfield increasing the
entrained volume significantly. The change is produced
by organized vortical structures . . . As the jet Mach
number is increased, the stability characteristics of
(the) shear layer changes significantly. In incompressi-
ble shear layers, large organized quasi-two-dimen-
sional structures are naturally occurring and grow by
subharmonic pairing . . . In compressible shear layers,
naturally occurring structures are often poorly orga-
nized and three-dimensional. Despite the differences
in the flow stability, vortices can be generated even in
compressible shear layers provided that the forcing
amplitude is sufficiently high . . . However, currently
available actuators are not powerful enough at high
frequencies to force a supersonic jet with any realistic
Reynolds number’. To emphasize this point, the
excitation in the (subsonic jet) experiments of Raman
et al., described above, was produced using electro-
pneumatic drivers operating with an air supply of
2.7 bar and producing up to 4 kW of acoustic power
at low frequencies. Pimshtein [140] excited small-
scale (Dn ¼ 10–60 mm) supersonic jets (NPR ¼ 1.1–3)
using 160–170 dB from Hartman generators.
7 MECHANICALLY OSCILLATED
Very few reports have been found of work on pro-
moting jet mixing by mechanically oscillating the
jet bodily (Fig. 7). This category, however, has been
taken to include mechanically excited jets and so
includes the study by Zaman and Hussain [131]
who used vibrating ribbons to produce the same
effect as acoustic excitation (q.v.). Similarly, Wiltse
and Glezer [141] forced a very low-speed air jet
using piezo-electric actuators. This work was
extended to higher velocity jets by Parekh et al. [142].
Amin and Garris [143] investigated unsteady jets
inside an ejector. These unsteady jets were produced
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by rotation of radial nozzles around the periphery of
the ejector duct. Improved flow uniformity was found
at the ejector exit plane in the rotating jet case; this
may have been largely due to suppression of separation
as there were indications that the rotating jets did not
mix as rapidly, at least initially, as the steady jets.
Rockwell [144] subjected a low-Reynolds number,
submerged, planar water jet to transverse periodic
disturbances using an oscillating plate placed to
one side and slightly downstream of the nozzle.
The response of the jet was grouped into five cat-
egories defined on a Reynolds number versus Strou-
hal number plot.
Simmons et al. [145] oscillated the planar jet on a
jet-flap aerofoil. Jet oscillation was achieved by
using a rotary insert near the nozzle exit. This was
operated by a crank mechanism and acted to oscil-
late the jet exit angle, thus flapping the jet bodily.
They found that the oscillated jet in a wind tunnel
decayed more rapidly but spread less rapidly than a
steady jet in a parallel flow.
Excitation using miniature flip-flop jets (q.v.) has
been investigated by Raman and Cornelius [146].
Their primary nozzle was rectangular, of aspect
ratio 3, and the jet velocity was just under 50 m/s
(Re ¼ 1.34  105 based on De). They succeeded in
increasing the (main) jet’s mass flux by 50 per cent
at x/Dn ¼ 9. The same level of mass flux enhance-
ment was obtained whether sinuous or varicose
modes of excitation were used. These two modes
were produced by operating the exciting flip-flop
jets either in phase or 1808 out of phase. In either
case, the length of the jet potential core was reduced
by about one-third. The excitation to achieve this
was at 170 Hz and three higher harmonics, covering
a Strouhal number range (based on De) of 0.15 –0.6.
Thus, the excitation started at the subharmonic of
the preferred mode for the jet (St ¼ 0.3 according to
Crow and Champagne [129]). The excitation level
produced at x/De ¼ 0.6 for these four Strouhal
numbers was measured at 23 –5 per cent of Vj.
8 SELF-OSCILLATED
A further possible mechanism for increasing jet
mixing is to set up conditions such that the jet per-
forms self-induced oscillations. Two devices have
been put into this category: the flip-flop nozzle,
which is a fluidically excited, bi-stable nozzle con-
figuration, and the whistler nozzle, which involves a
resonant cavity driven by an edge-tone.
8.1 Flip-flop nozzle
Flip-flop jet is a term used to describe a fluidically
oscillated jet. Viets [147, 148] is widely credited for
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Fig. 7 Mechanically oscillated nozzles showing the classification of excitation sources (upper
figure) and a schematic of two nozzle and actuator configurations (lower figure)[142]

developing the concept and the terminology. Viets
et al. [148] claimed that the flip-flop jet offered
improved mixing and supported this claim with
flow visualization of water jets (in air) showing very
wide spreading angles. Viets [147] further supported
this claim with plots of jet half-width (the width to
half-peak velocity), based on time-mean velocity
profiles, which showed an increase of spreading of
.200 per cent compared with a slot jet. He also
claimed thrust efficiencies approaching 90 per cent.
Over a decade after Viets’s initial publications,
Srinivas et al. [149] revisited the fluidically controlled
oscillating jet. They disagreed with Viets over the
feedback mechanism and, more significantly,

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120
showed that entrainment was worse than that of a
steady jet (for x/De , 10). This finding is consistent
with that of Simmons et al. [145] who used mechan-
ical oscillation (q.v.) to flap a jet. It is not, however,
consistent with the same authors’ more extensive
work [150], which showed a 55 per cent increase in
volumetric flow by x/De  20 for a flip-flop nozzle.
No satisfactory explanation can be found for this
discrepancy, which is not addressed by Srinivas
et al. [149]. It is noted, however, that Platzer et al.
[150] found a much greater entrainment increase
by using pulsed jets.
The concept of the flip-flop nozzle was taken up by
Raman et al. [151] who extended it to supersonic
flows (Fig. 8). For subsonic conditions, they con-
firmed the findings of Srinivas et al. [149], Simmons
et al. [145] and Fiedler and Korschelt [132] who had
all shown no increase in entrainment for flapping
jets.
Raman et al. showed that the flip-flop jet could be
extended to operate successfully at supersonic con-
ditions and that it could produce very high stream-
wise velocity perturbations, much higher than
Fig. 8 Schematic of the flip-flop nozzles tested by
Raman et al. [153]
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K Knowles and A J Saddington
conventional excitation devices. They concluded
that the flip-flop jet is most suitable as an excitation
device. Raman and Rice [152] showed how phased
twin flip-flop jets can be developed and Raman
et al. [153] evaluated flip-flop jets as excitation
devices. The success of this approach was discussed
under section 7. Figure 8 shows schematics of large-
scale (Fig. 8(a)) and small-scale (Fig. 8(b)) flip-flop
nozzle designs used by Raman et al.
8.2 Whistler nozzle
The whistler nozzle appears to have been discovered
by Hill and Greene [154] although they were unable
to describe the phenomenon or find any relationship
between the controlling parameters. Their whistler
nozzle (Fig. 9) consists of a convergent section, a
constant area section, and then a step change to a
larger exit area. They found that this arrangement
generated a loud pure tone and a greatly increased
rate of (subsonic) jet mixing.
At an excitation Strouhal number of 0.315 + 0.016,
Hill and Greene [154] found a rapid centre-line
velocity decay showing no signs of a potential core.
Centre-line turbulence rose rapidly to a peak of 20
per cent at x/Dn ¼ 2 (with x measured from the exit
plane of the basic nozzle); in comparison, the un-
excited jet peaked at ,15 per cent by x/Dn ¼ 8
(downstream of the potential core, which extended
to about 6Dn). The jet half-velocity width was
increased by 54 per cent at x/Dn ¼ 10. The authors
speculated that the whistler nozzle would not work
for sonic or supersonic jets. They also noted that
they had not been able to produce a two-
dimensional whistler nozzle.
Hussain and Hasan [155] set out to explain
the whistler nozzle phenomenon and quantify the
controlling parameters. They showed that the
whistler excitation results from the coupling of two
Fig. 9 A basic whistler nozzle [154]
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 Review of jet mixing enhancement
independent resonance mechanisms: a shear-layer
tone resulting from the impingement of the pipe-
exit shear layer on the collar lip and organ-pipe
resonance of the pipe nozzle. Again, this experiment
was only at subsonic conditions and, indeed, some of
the tests were with laminar flow.
Wilson et al. [139] placed an annular cavity
around the exit of an axisymmetric supersonic
nozzle. By adjusting the cavity dimensions, they
were able to produce different forcing frequencies.
They found that most cavities produced some kind
of flow oscillation but that the amplitude of oscil-
lation depended a lot on cavity design and resonant
frequencies. At higher frequencies, in particular,
when the imposed coherent structure frequency
was close to the jet-preferred mode frequency,
high shear layer spatial growth rates were observed.
Up to 50 per cent increase was obtained at a
convective Mach number of 1.4. The authors also
discussed the effect of forcing on visible and filtered
(515 + 5 nm) radiation, as a means of assessing
afterburner performance.
9 CONCLUSIONS
It is proposed that jet IR signature can be reduced by
increasing mixing rates, although it is clear that
increasing mixing does not automatically reduce a
jet’s peak IR radiation for all aspects. A key target
should be to reduce the volume and surface area of
the potential core. Whether potential core volume
or surface area is more significant depends on the
optical thickness of the jet and this is something
which needs to be carefully addressed in any sub-
scale experiment. Mixing improvements of .100
per cent are needed for rectangular nozzles of
aspect ratio greater than about 3 to ensure
reductions in core area and volume. It is noted that
increased mixing does not necessarily reduce jet
noise.
Various nozzle geometry modifications have been
shown to increase mixing relative to that from a cir-
cular nozzle. Rectangular jets decay about twice as
quickly as circular ones and elliptical jets decay
faster still (at least at low speeds). Lobed nozzles
are effective at promoting rapid mixing (200 per
cent increase compared with a circular nozzle, half
of this being due to increased perimeter) and have
been shown to work under supersonic conditions;
reductions in jet core length of up to half have been
shown for a lobed nozzle relative to a rectangular
nozzle. Castellated nozzles have been shown to
increase mixing by up to 70 per cent for circular,
underexpanded nozzle flows; they do not appear to
work for correctly expanded jets. They have not yet
been applied to rectangular nozzles. The most
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121
dramatic single change quoted in mixing rate was
for a lobed splitter plate which gave a 380 per cent
increase in growth rate for a confined, supersonic
mixing layer.
Excrescences which protrude into the jet flow can
be very effective at increasing mixing and disturbing
the jet structure (up to 50 per cent increase in mass
entrainment for a low-speed jet). A major penalty
of such devices, however, is the inevitable loss of
thrust (5 per cent measured for vortex generators at
low speeds). Supersonic jet entrainment increases
of up to 20 per cent have been quoted with two
tabs protruding into the jet and up to 50 per cent
with four ‘delta-tabs’.
Counterflow has been shown to reduce supersonic
jet potential core lengths by a factor of two but at the
expense of increased jet noise and an equivalent
thrust loss due to suction power required. Like
many other rapid mixing schemes, it involves the
generation of streamwise vortices, in this case trig-
gering powerful oscillations in the jet.
Bulk swirl increases mixing (less than 88 of swirl is
enough to halve the length of the potential core of a
low-speed jet) and modifies shock structure. High
levels of swirl can lead to vortex breakdown which
in turn enhances mixing, although the thrust penalty
associated with this has never been assessed. Swirl
has been used successfully in concert with other
rapid mixing technologies. Analysis has shown that
swirl profiles can be designed to produce shock-
noise reduction and low specific-thrust loss. No
definitive experiments have been conducted on
such profiles.
Swirl can also be applied to jet shear layers.
Entrainment increases of 15 per cent have been
shown at low speeds. Unlike bulk swirl, there is not
a near-field effect in this case.
Pulsed jets can exhibit mixing increases of the
order of 100 per cent. The potential core of a low-
speed jet can be reduced in length by over 80 per
cent. Pulsed jets can also show reduced mixing if
the wrong pulsing rate is used and their propulsive
efficiency is believed to be poor.
Many forms of jet excitation have been investi-
gated. External acoustic excitation has the disadvan-
tage at supersonic speeds of requiring excessive
power. Self-acoustic excitation is a more feasible
concept for high-speed jets, with screech conditions
showing an increase of over 50 per cent in jet spread-
ing angle and decay rate. Using synchronized
screech for an array of nozzles has been shown to
increase mixing by 30 per cent. Generating impin-
gement tones using obstacles in supersonic jets can
increase mixing by up to 30 per cent but at the
expense of thrust losses of the order of 15 per cent.
Such techniques can be used in conjunction with
other rapid mixing devices.
Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part G: J. Aerospace Engineering
122 K Knowles and A J Saddington
Most forms of mechanical oscillation seem
unsuited to high-speed propulsive jets for structural
reasons and, in any case, do not show clear mixing
benefits. Flip-flop (fluidically oscillated) jets have
been shown to produce self-sustained oscillations
at supersonic speeds but they do not increase
mixing. Their use as excitation devices looks pro-
mising but has not been proven for supersonic jet
control. Overall, there is considerable evidence that
provoking flapping in a jet does not increase its
mixing.
The ‘whistler nozzle’ concept looks as if it could be
applied to supersonic jets as a novel form of mixing
enhancement. It does not seem to have been used
on rectangular jets.
When mixing enhancement is being assessed for
propulsive jets, it is recommended that the effect
on jet thrust should also be considered. The datum
case should then be a baseline jet with the same
(probably reduced) thrust. The same approach
should be taken for noise and IR signature as both
could be reduced by operating the baseline jet at
reduced thrust.
Finally, it is clear that many approaches have been
investigated to enhance jet mixing. In some cases,
the benefits have proved illusory, and in other
cases, mixing reductions can be produced as readily
as mixing enhancements. Overall, however, there
are many viable approaches to mixing enhancement
some of which have been successfully demonstrated
for supersonic jets. There is very little published
information on the impact of such rapid mixing
technologies on jet thrust.
REFERENCES
1 Spiro, I. J. and Schlessinger, M. Infrared technology
fundamentals, 1989 (Marcel Dekker Inc., New York).
2 Banken, G. J., Cornette, W. M., and Gleason, K. M.
Investigation of infrared characteristics of three
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APPENDIX
Notation
An nozzle exit area
AR aspect ratio (of rectangular nozzle)
b jet width
p
De nozzle equivalent diameter (2 (An/p))
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 Review of jet mixing enhancement 127

Dn nozzle exit diameter St Strouhal number ( fDn/Vj)

f frequency T static temperature
H height (smaller dimension) of rectangular V velocity
nozzle Vj jet velocity at nozzle exit
L length of plume core Vm local maximum velocity
Mn Mach number at nozzle exit V1 freestream velocity
NPR nozzle pressure ratio ( p0/pa) x streamwise position in jet
pa atmospheric static pressure
p0 nozzle stagnation pressure
Re Reynolds number g ratio of specific heats
ref reference r density

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