A study on the heat and mass transfer properties of multiple pulsating impinging jets

In order to explore the potential effect of unsteady intermittent pulsations on the heat and mass transfer rate of multiple impinging jets, a numerical study is performed on a two-dimensional pulsating impinging jet array under large temperature differences between jet flows and impingement wall when the thermo-physical properties can change significantly in the flow domain. Computational fluid dynamic approach is used to simulate the flow and thermal fields of multiple pulsating impinging jets. The numerical results indicate a significant heat transfer enhancement due to intermittent pulsation over a wide range of conditions. The oscillatory flow periodically alters the flow patterns in contrast to steady jets, which can eliminate the formation of a static stagnation point and enhance the local Nusselt number along the impingement wall between adjacent jets. Examination of the velocity field shows that the instantaneous heat transfer rate on the target surface is highly dependent on the hydrodynamic and thermal boundary layer development with time. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.