Abstract
In this paper, the flow behaviors in the rectangular grooved channel which is the basic unit of the plate heat exchanger is investigated. Under the action of the pulsating flow field, the flow characteristics and flow structure in different lengths of grooved channels are analyzed experimentally and numerically. The instantaneous pulsating flow rate is monitored by an electromagnetic flowmeter to analyze the change rule of the pulsation ratio of the pulsating flow in the experiment, and the overall pressure drop in the grooved channel is monitored by a differential transducer. Furthermore, the flow is visualized by the aluminum dust method. It is seen that the flow visualization method matched well with the numerical simulation results. In the grooved channels with different groove lengths, the pulsation ratio of the flow is influenced obviously by the frequency of pulsation. It can be observed that the actual pulsation ratio of the pulsating flow decreases with increasing frequency. In addition, it can be revealed that there is a phase difference between the curves of flow rate and pressure drop with time, and the magnitude of the phase difference is related to the pulsation frequency and the groove length.