FLUID MIXING AND MASS-TRANSFER ENHANCEMENT IN GROOVED CHANNELS FOR PULSATILE FLOW

Fluid mixing and mass transfer in grooved channels were studied experi mentally and numerically for pulsatile flow with varying flow paramete rs. A particle advection procedure by numerical simulation indicates t hat vortex dynamics due to time-periodic flows lead to efficient fluid exchange between channel and groove flows. Mass transfer rates were m easured by the electrochemical method. The mass transfer enhancement f actor increases with the oscillatory fraction of the flow rate, and de pends on the net flow rate and oscillatory frequency. II is found that at high Reynolds numbers this factor suddenly increases at a low osci llatory fraction, in contrast to the cases at low Reynolds numbers.