Impact pressures of turbulent high-velocity jets plunging in pools with flat bottom

Dynamic pressures created by the impact of high-velocity turbulent jets plunging in a water pool with flat bottom were investigated. Pressure fluctuations were sampled at 1 kHz at the jet outlet and at the pool bottom using piezo-resistive pressure transducers, jet velocities of up to 30 m/s and pool depth to jet diameter ratios from 2.8 to 11.4. The high-velocity jets entrain air in the pool in conditions similar to prototype applications at water release structures of dams. The intermittent character of plunge pool flows was investigated for shallow and deep pools, based on high order moments and time correlations. Maximum intermittency was observed for pool depths at 5.6 jet diameters, which approximate the core development length. Wall pressure skewness was shown to allow identifying the zone of influence of downward and upward moving currents.