Thermal interaction between isolated heated electronic components in pulsating channel flow

The characteristics of the pulsating flow and the associated thermal transport from two heated blocks, representing energy dissipating electronic components with different heights, in a channel have been numerically investigated. At the channel inlet, a pulsating sinusoidal flow U_i is imposed at a uniform temperature T_C. The block surfaces in the channel are taken at a constant higher temperature T_H The channel walls are assumed to be adiabatic. Results on the time-dependent flow and temperature field are obtained and averaged over a cycle of pulsation. The effect of the important governing parameters, such as the Strouhal number S and the dimensionless heights of the blocks, on the heat transfer rate is investigated in detail. The results indicate that the recirculation flow behind the downstream block, as well as that in the inter-block region, are substantially affected by the frequency and the heights of the blocks. These, in turn, have a strong influence on the thermal transport from the heated elements to the pulsating flow. The present results are also compared with those obtained earlier for a steady non-pulsating flow, and the effect of pulsation on the overall transport process is determined. The relevance of these results to the cooling of electronic systems is discussed.