Applied Pulsed Flow for Single-Phase Convective Heat Transfer Enhancement in a Laminar Flow Cooling System

Experimental and CFD studies were performed to investigate the enhancement of convective heat transfer in a laminar cooling system using flow pulsation in a flat channel with series of regular spaced fins. Glycerol-water mixtures with dynamic viscosities in the range of 0.001 kg/ms–0.01 kg/ms were used. A steady flow Reynolds number in the laminar range of 10 < Re < 1200 was studied. The amplitudes of the applied pulsations are in the range of 0.25 < A < 0.55 mm and the frequency range is 10 < f < 60 Hz. Two different cooling devices with active length L = 450 mm and 900 mm were investigated. CFD simulations were performed on a parallel-computer (Linux-cluster) using the software suit CFX11 from ANSYS GmbH, Germany. The rate of cooling was found to be significant at moderate low net flow rates. In general, no significant heat transfer enhancement at very low and high flow rates was obtained in compliance with the experimental data. The heat transfer coefficient was found to increase with increasing Prandtl number Pr at constant oscillation Reynolds number Re_osc whereas the ratio of the hydraulic diameter to the length of the channel d_h/L has insignificant effect on the heat transfer coefficient. This is due to enhanced fluid mixing. CFD results allow for performance predictions of different geometries and flow conditions.