Abstract:
The present study considers the effects of the electromagnetic field and pulsating flow on nanofluids heat transfer and flow characteristics in the three-start helically fluted tube. The experiments are performed using anofluids with the Reynolds number varying from 8000 to 13000, and with an Fe3O4/water nanofluids (Ferrofluid) concentration of 0.005% by volume with and without an electromagnetic field effect. The measured results are verified with the predicted results from the proposed correlations and the published experimental results. As a result of the disturbed flow boundary layer, higher swirling Brownian motion, higher local thermal conductivity, and the mixing of turbulent intensity, the heat transfer performance also increases. For a given pulsating flow of 30 Hz, the Nusselt number enhancement increases significantly to 137.7% and 156.7% for the helical depth ratios of 0.028 and 0.093, respectively. The helically fluted tube with a helical depth ratio of 0.093 and a helical pitch ratio of 0.93 yields the highest Nusselt number improvement. The Nusselt number under the electromagnetic field effect increases by 19.0% and 14.4% for the pulsating flow of 30 Hz and 20 Hz, respectively. Finally, a comprehensive evaluation index is applied to estimate thermo-hydraulic performance. It is found that the comprehensive evaluation index increases with the increasing Reynolds number at first and then decreases as the Reynolds number increases further. © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.