The axisymmetric jet in a rotating reference frame

Abstract

The axisymmetric jet is a geometrically simple, statistically stationary example of inhomogenous turbulence. Considering conservation of volume and momentum, Morton et al. (1956) offered a prediction of jet development, characterised solely by an unknown, constant entrainment coefficient. The presence of background rotation complicates the kinematics of the entrainment, and without special treatment, the jet suffers a helical instability. Here, we present one technique which stabilises the axisymmetric jet, yet preserves its desirable turbulent properties. The jet offers a steady-state flow in which there is an axial variation of local Rossby number, and after decay along the axis to a critical value, cones of inertial waves emerge. In this paper, we demonstrate these features using our numerical software MOBILE, offer our solution to stabilise the jet, and explain the mechanisms involved.