SHAPE OF AN ANNULAR LIQUID JET

Analytical and experimental studies have been done to determine the sh ape of a vertical, axisymmetric, annular liquid jet. From a balance of the surface, pressure, gravity, and inertia forces, a nonlinear, seco nd-order ordinary differential equation is obtained for the shape of t he annular jet. This equation is solved numerically by the Runge-Kutta -Nystrom method. An annular jet either converges (closes), diverges, o r maintains (theoretically) its original radius depending upon the mag nitude of the difference between the inside and outside pressure. This corresponds to, in terms of a dimensionless pressure (p) over bar whe ther (p) over bar is less than, greater than, or equal to 2. An experi ment has been performed to verify the analytical solution. The jet vel ocity, inside pressure and other parameters have been varied to obtain different shapes of the jet, both closing and diverging. Good agreeme nt with the analytical prediction is found.