
This study explores pulsating-flow heat transfer enhancement over a pin fin array in a rectangular channel. Experiments and CFD analyses show that heat transfer improves with increasing fin spacing, though the benefit saturates at larger gaps. The pulsating Strouhal number is the key parameter, with peak performance occurring around 0.3-0.7, where asymmetric vortex structures develop and significantly enhance wake region fluid mixing. A predictive correlation is proposed, incorporating Strouhal number, fin spacing, Reynolds number, and Prandtl number, which reproduces numerical results within 2.78% average error in the low St regime. These findings provide quantitative design guidelines for energy efficient liquid cooling systems in compact electronic applications. The cover image was created by ChatGPT and contains no copyrighted elements or misleading representations.
View this paper