Jets with Reversing Buoyancy

Abstract

A jet of heavy fluid is injected upwards, at time $t=0$, into a lighter fluid and reaches a maximum height at time $t=t_i$ and then flows back around the upward flow. A similar flow situation occurs for a light fluid injected downward into a heavy one. In this paper an exact analytical expression for $t_i$ is derived. The expression remains valid for laminar and turbulent buoyant jets with or without swirl.