The Thermoflow Characteristics of an Oscillatory Flow in Offset-Strip Fins

Abstract

In this work, a numerical study was performed to investigate the characteristics of pressure drop and heat transfer in an oscillatory flow through offset-strip fins. In the laminar regime, the flow does not oscillate, and the Colburn j and friction f factors from a steady simulation are very close to those of an unsteady simulation. The flow begins to oscillate in the transition and turbulence regimes. In these regimes, the error between the f and j values obtained from the unsteady and steady simulations becomes significant. Since an unsteady simulation is too computationally expensive, a steady simulation with a turbulence model was tested. It was found that a steady simulation with the SST(shear stress transport) k- turbulence model can accurately predict the Colburn j and friction f factors of an unsteady simulation.