The effect of Schmidt number on turbulent scalar mixing in a jet-in-crossflow

The adequacy and accuracy of the constant Schmidt number assumption in pred icting turbulent scalar fields in jet-in-crossflows are assessed in the pre sent work. A round jet injected into a confined crossflow in a rectangular tunnel has been simulated using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equatio ns with the standard kappa-epsilon turbulence model. The principal observat ion is that the turbulent Schmidt number has a significant effect on the pr ediction of the species spreading rate in jet-in-crossflows, especially for the cases where the jet-to-crossflow momentum flux ratios are relatively s mall. A turbulent Schmidt number of 0.2 is recommended for best agreement w ith experimental data. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.