Oscillatory heat transfer in a pipe subjected to a laminar reciprocating flow

An experimental and numerical study has been carried out for laminar forced convection in a long pipe heated by uniform heat flux and subjected to a reciprocating flow of air. Transient fluid temperature variations in the two mixing chambers connected to both ends of the heated section were measured These measurements were used as the thermal boundary conditions for the numerical simulation of the hydrodynamically and thermally developing reciprocating flow in the heated pipe. The coupled governing equations for time-dependent convective heat transfer in the fluid flow and conduction in the wall of the heated tube were solved numerically. The numerical results for time-resolved centerline fluid temperature, cycle-averaged wall temperature, and the space-cycle averaged Nusselt number are shown to be in good agreement with the experimental data. Based on the experimental data, a correlation equation is obtained for the cycle-space averaged Nusselt number in terms of appropriate dimensionless parameters for a laminar reciprocating pow of air in a long pipe with constant heat flux.