Non-coalescence of Jets

Abstract

Contrary to common intuition, free jets of fluid can ``bounce'' off each other on collision in mid-air, through the effect of a lubricating air film that separates the jets. While there has been much work on coalescing jets of fluid and non-coalescence in other systems like drop-drop, drop on a bath, jet on a bath, non-coalescence of fluid jets has been little studied. A simple experimental setup was developed to stably demonstrate and study the non-coalescence of jets upon collision. This thesis presents the results of an experimental investigation of oblique collision between two fluid jets. The transition from bouncing to coalescence of jets is examined for various jet sizes and angles. Results indicate that the transition from bouncing to coalescence can be rationalized in terms of critical value of the dimensionless parameter Normal Weber Number, which represents the ratio between inertial and surface tension forces. A parametric study of the characteristic of bouncing jets, conducted by varying the nozzle diameter, jet velocity, angle of inclination and fluid viscosity reveals the scaling laws for the quantities involved such as contact time. These scaling laws help us in elucidating the role of various physical forces at play such as viscous stresses, capillary force and inertia