This thesis deals with the near-field of confluent jets, which can be of interest in many engineering applications such as design of a ventilation supply device. The physical effect of interaction between multiple closely spaced jets is studied using experimental and numerical methods. The primary aim of this study is to explore a better understanding of flow and turbulence behavior of multiple interacting jets. The main goal is to gain an insight into the confluence of jets occurring in the near-field of multiple interacting jets. The array of multiple interacting jets is studied when they are placed on a flat and a curved surface. To obtain the boundary conditions at the nozzle exits of the confluent jets on a curved surface, the results of numerical prediction of a cylindrical air supply device using two turbulence models (realizable 𝑘 − 𝜖 and Reynolds stress model) are validated with hot-wire anemometry (HWA) near different nozzles discharge in the array. A single round jet is then studied to find the appropriate turbulence models for the prediction of the three-dimensional flow field and to gain an understanding of the effect of the boundary conditions predicted at the nozzle inlet. In comparison with HWA measurements, the turbulence models with low Reynolds correction (𝑘 − 𝜖 and shear stress transport [SST] 𝑘 − 𝜔) give reasonable flow predictions for the single round jet with the prescribed inlet boundary conditions, while the transition models (𝑘 − 𝑘l − 𝜔𝜔 and transition SST 𝑘 − 𝜔) are unable to predict the flow in the turbulent region. The results of numerical prediction (low Reynolds SST 𝑘 − 𝜔 model) using the prescribed inlet boundary conditions agree well with the HWA measurement in the nearfield of confluent jets on a curved surface, except in the merging region. Instantaneous velocity measurements are performed by laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) and particle image velocimetry (PIV) in two different configurations, a single row of parallel coplanar jets and an inline array of jets on a flat surface. The results of LDA and PIV are compared, which exhibit good agreement except near the nozzle exits. The streamwise velocity profile of the jets in the initial region shows a saddle back shape with attenuated turbulence in the core region and two off-centered narrow peaks. When confluent jets issue from an array of closely spaced nozzles, they may converge, merge, and combine after a certain distance downstream of the nozzle edge. The deflection plays a salient role for the multiple interacting jets (except in the single row configuration), where all the jets are converged towards the center of the array. The jet position, such as central, side and corner jets, significantly influences the development features of the jets, such as velocity decay and lateral displacement. The flow field of confluent jets exhibits asymmetrical distributions of Reynolds stresses around the axis of the jets and highly anisotropic turbulence. The velocity decays slower in the combined regio  of confluent jets than a single jet. Using the response surface methodology, the correlations between characteristic points (merging and combined points) and the statistically significant terms of the three design factors (inlet velocity, spacing between the nozzles and diameter of the nozzles) are determined for the single row of coplanar parallel jets. The computational parametric study of the single row configuration shows that spacing has the greatest impact on the near-field characteristics.

This study presents air distribution systems that are based on confluent jets; this system can be of interest for the establishment of indoor environments, to fulfill the goals of indoor climate and energy-efficient usage. The main objective of this study is to provide deeper understanding of the flow field development of a supply device that is designed based on wall confluent jets and to investigate the ventilation performance by experimental and numerical methods. In this study, the supply device can be described as an array of round jets on a flat surface attached to a side wall. Multiple round jets that issue from supply device apertures are combined at a certain distance downstream from the device and behave as a united jet or so-called confluent jets. Multiple round jets that are generated from the supply device move downward and are attached to the wall at the primary region, due to the Coanda effect, and then they become wall confluent jets until the floor wall is reached. A wall jet in a secondary region is formed along the floor after the stagnation region. The characteristics of the flow field and the ventilation performance of conventional wall confluent jets and modified wall confluent jets supply devices are investigated experimentally in an office test room. The study of the modified wall confluent jets is intended to improve the efficiency of the conventional one while maintaining acceptable thermal comfort in an office environment. The results show that the modified wall confluent jets supply device can provide acceptable thermal comfort for the occupant with lower airflow rate compared to the conventional wall confluent jets supply device. Numerical predictions using three turbulence models (renormalization group (RNG k– ε), realizable (Re k– ε), and shear stress transport (SST k– ω) are evaluated by measurement results. The computational box and nozzle plate models are used to model the inlet boundary conditions of the nozzle device. In the isothermal study, the wall confluent jets in the primary region and the wall jet in the secondary region, when predicted by the three turbulence models, are in good agreement with the measurements. The non-isothermal validation studies show that the SST k– ω model is slightly better at predicting the wall confluent jets than the other two models. The SST k– ω model is used to investigate the effects of the nozzle diameter, number of nozzles, nozzle array configuration, and inlet discharge height on the ventilation performance of the proposed wall confluent jets supply device. The nozzle diameter and number of nozzles play important roles in determining the airflow pattern, temperature field, and draught distribution. Increased temperature stratification and less draught distribution are achieved by increasing the nozzle diameter and number of nozzles. The supply device with smaller nozzle diameters and fewer nozzles yields rather uniform temperature distribution due to the dominant effect of mixing. The flow behavior is nearly independent of the inlet discharge height for the studied range. The proposed wall confluent jets supply device is compared with a mixing supply device, impinging supply device and displacement supply device. The results show that the proposed wall confluent jets supply device has the combined behavior of both mixing and stratification principles. The proposed wall confluent jets supply device provides better overall ventilation performance than the mixing and displacement supply devices used in this study. This study covers also another application of confluent jets that is based on impinging technology. The supply device under consideration has an array of round jets on a curve. Multiple jets issue from the supply device aperture, in which the supply device is positioned vertically and the jets are directed against a target wall. The flow behavior and ventilation performance of the impinging confluent jets supply device is studied experimentally in an industrial premise. The results show that the impinging confluent jets supply device maintains acceptable thermal comfort in the occupied zone by creating well-distributed airflow during cold and hot seasons.