Abstract
The heat transfer enhancement by pulsatile flow in a triangular grooved channel has been experimentally investigated in this study The experiment was performed in the ranges of the Reynolds number from 270 to 910, the pulsatile fraction from 0.125 to 0.75, and the Strouhal number from 0.084 to 0.665. It was measured that the heat transfer improves up to 350% compared with the steady flow case at Re=270,$\eta=0.5$, and St=0.335. The heat transfer enhancement was found to increase as the pulsatile fraction increases and the Reynolds number decreases. It was also found that the heat transfer enhancement is maximized at a specific pulsatile frequency satisfying the resonant condition. The nondimensional frequency, i.e., the Strouhal number at the resonant condition was found to increase as the Reynolds number decreases. The flow visualization revealed that the heat transfer enhancement results from the strong mixing caused by the repeating sequence of vortex formation, rotation and subsequent ejection from the grooves by the pulsatile flow.