Compressiblity, curvature and variable density effects on turbulent shear layers

This work is the first of several steps in addressing the challenge of characterizing the behavior of turbulence in retropropulsive jet plumes. Most prior simulation studies focused on turbulent mixing have been limited to a single turbulence mechanism; limited work with multiple turbulence mechanisms has been pursued. The primary goal of this work is to improve the understanding of turbulent mixing layers affected by variable density, rotation and curvature by considering a planar, constant-density and low-Mach mixing layer, then systematically including the aforementioned effects. The CFD solver OVERFLOW is used to compute a suite of high resolution simulations across a range of convective Mach numbers, free-stream density ratios, and radii of curvature. Turbulent stress anisotropy, mass fluxes, and pressure-strain correlations are used to assess how each of the parameters effects turbulent mixing and to provide comparison with previously published planar shear layer statistics. Using the database, it will also be evaluated if rotation/curvature, compressibility, or density variations dominate turbulent mixing characteristics in particular configurations.