Theoretical analysis of wall thermal inertial effects on heat transfer of pulsating laminar flow in a channel

Abstract The effects of wall heat capacity on heat transfer of pulsating laminar flow with constant heat input between two parallel plates are theoretically investigated. The analytical solution of the fully developed thermal profile under constant wall heat flux is obtained. The results show that both the fluid temperature and Nusselt number fluctuate periodically as the driven pressure pulsates. The effects of the wall thermal inertia and Prandtl number, as well as pulsation amplitude and frequency on the fluctuations are investigated. Compared with pulsating flow without considering wall thermal inertia, the fluctuation amplitude of the fluid temperature and Nusselt number is smaller while the mean temperature difference is larger. The average Nusselt number, for both considering and neglecting wall thermal inertia, is reduced by pulsating flow. The reduction is up to 10% and cannot be neglected.