Experimental study of the impact of rigid vegetation on a buoyant jet in presence of crossflows

The present study deals with how a uniform cross-stream, with a channel bed surface covered by rigid emergent stems, affects the behavior of a circular, turbulent buoyant jet. The time-averaged temperature and velocity fields were investigated along the longitudinal central plane of the channel and across the jet, in order to understand the jet diffusion and penetration within the ambient fluid. Moreover, an analysis of the jet axis was carried out and compared with similar results found in literature for a pure jet in a cross flow. The evolution of the jet was compared in cases both with and without vegetation in the surrounding environment. The examination and comparison of the results show that the presence of emergent vegetation affects both the average velocity and temperature fields and the jet structure, with a particular increase in the jet penetration height and dilution, compared to the test case without vegetation.