The transition to turbulence of buoyant near-critical water jets

- Observations on transition to turbulence of near-critical water jets are reported.
- Two types of transition are primarily observed as Reynolds number (Re) is increased.
- The first type is classical with a transition point that moves upstream with increasing Re.
- In the second type the entire jet is turbulent even at low Re.
- The low Re behavior is determined by the Prandtl number and Froude number.