Streaks and coherent structures in jets from round and serrated nozzles

Hydrodynamic instabilities are directly related to large-scale coherent structures that are correlated with jet noise emission. Unravelling and accurately predicting their fundamental dynamics shows a promising direction for designing quieter jet engines. In this study, we analyze high-fidelity large-eddy simulation data of a turbulent Mach 0.4 round jet and a Mach 1.5 chevron jet. Using spectral proper orthogonal decomposition we identify, beyond the well-known Kelvin–Helmoholtz and Orr mechanisms, elongated alternating streamwise streaks of high and low-speed fluid that have been associated with a non-modal lift-up effect in wall-bounded shear flows. In the global three-dimensional domain, the most energetic streaks manifest for azimuthal wavenumber m = 1 and frequency St → 0. Furthermore, for the chevron jet, streaks and streamwise vortices appear due to the presence of the serrated nozzle, and they inherit the periodicity of the nozzle geometry. Finally, local (planar) spectral proper orthogonal decomposition is used to analyze the coherent structures of the chevron jet flow. Near the nozzle exit, antisymmetric and symmetric modes appear to be amplified and linked to the presence of the chevrons/streaks. Further downstream, the most energetic modes share similar characteristics to the ones observed in round jets.