Formation and transformation of a water bell resulting from impingement of a vertical liquid jet on a horizontal plate

The formation and transformation of a water bell resulting from the impingement of an axisymmetric water jet perpendicularly to a circular plate were investigated. The various bell shapes and their different behavior are described as a function of the diameters of the plate and nozzle, and the jet exhaust velocity. These shapes are observed when the distance between plate and nozzle is varied. A possible analogy with step changes for vortex jets was examined.