Hydrodynamics and heat transfer for pulsating laminar flow in channels

Abstract

The problem about laminar pulsating flow and heat transfer with high pulsation amplitudes of average cross-section velocity in a round tube and in a flat channel is solved using the finite element method. The difference scheme’s optimal parameters are determined. Data on the pulsation amplitude and phase are obtained for the hydraulic friction coefficient, tangential stress on the wall, liquid temperature, heat flux on the wall qw (at ϑw = const), and wall temperature ϑw (at qw = const) are obtained. Two characteristic modes, namely, quasi steady-state and high-frequency ones are separated based on the value of dimensionless pulsation frequency. During operation in the quasi steady-state mode, the values of all hydrodynamic and thermal quantities correspond to the values of time-average velocity at the given time instant. For operation in the high-frequency mode, it is shown that the dependences of the pulsating components of hydrodynamic and thermal quantities on the dimensionless pulsation frequency have the same pattern for rectilinear channels having different shapes of their cross section. It is found that certain nodal points exist on the distribution of thermal characteristics along the tube (liquid temperature, heat flux density on the wall at ϑw = const, and wall temperature at qw = const) in which the values of these quantities remain unchanged. The distances between the nodal points decrease with increasing the pulsation frequency. The pulsations of thermal quantities decay over the tube length.