Numerical investigation of heat transfer in pulsating flows through a bluff plate

The two-dimensional flow and convective heat transfer over a rectangular bluff plate are numerically simulated with the incoming pulsating flow. For low Reynolds number, variations of the frequency and amplitude of the pulsating flow will introduce instability and force the flow to become unsteady with the formation of shedding vortices. The separation bubble is decreased and the heat transfer rate is enhanced. At moderate Reynolds number, the shedding vortices characteristic is controlled by the pulsating frequency. The optimal pulsating frequency which produces a maximum overall heat transfer rate, is found at f = 0.3 for A = 0.1. Increasing the pulsating frequency in this regime leads to a temperature concentration downstream.