Influence of nozzle-exit boundary-layer conditions on the flow and acoustic fields of initially laminar jets

Round jets originating from a pipe nozzle are computed by large-eddy simulations (LES) to investigate the effects of the nozzle-exit conditions on the flow and sound fields of initially laminar jets. The jets are at Mach number 0.9 and Reynolds number 105, and exhibit exit boundary layers characterized by Blasius velocity profiles, maximum root-mean-square (r.m.s.) axial velocity fluctuations between 0.2 and 1.9% of the jet velocity, and momentum thicknesses varying from 0.003 to 0.023 times the jet radius. The far-field noise is determined from the LES data on a cylindrical surface by solving the acoustic equations. Jets with a thinner boundary layer develop earlier but at a slower rate, yielding longer potential cores and lower centreline turbulent intensities. Adding random pressure disturbances of low magnitude in the nozzle also increases the potential core length and reduces peak r.m.s. radial velocity fluctuations in the shear layer. In all the jets, the shear-layer transition is dominated by vortex rolling-ups and pairings, which generate strong additional acoustic components, but also amplify the downstream-dominant low-frequency noise component when the exit boundary layer is thick. The introduction of inlet noise however results in weaker pairings, thus spectacularly reducing their contributions to the sound field. This high sensitivity to the initial conditions is in good agreement with experimental observations.