Journal of Computational Applied Mechanics 2021, 52(4): 570-587

DOI: 10.22059/jcamech.2021.327163.638
RESEARCH PAPER

Analytical solution of pulsating flow and forced convection heat

transfer in a pipe filled with porous medium

Fatemeh Sobhnamayan, Faramarz Sarhaddi∗, Amin Behzadmehr

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran

Abstract

In this paper, the pulsating flow and forced convection heat transfer in a pipe filled with porous medium is
investigated. The pipe is under a constant heat flux. The governing equations of the problem includes continuity,
Brinkman momentum equation and energy equation. Using complex analysis technique, an analytical solution
for velocity profile and temperature distribution are obtained. Also, the effect of various design parameters on
velocity profile and temperature distribution is studied. Results show that the pulsating effect on velocity and
temperature profile increases with the increase of Darcy number and dimensionless amplitude of pressure

frequency. For high dimensionless frequency ( > 30), the maximum velocity and temperature tend to be
gradient but decreases with the increase of viscosity ratio parameter, Prandtl number and dimensionless

constant due to the decrease in wave amplitude.

Keywords: Pulsating flow; Circular pipe; Porous medium; Forced convection.

1. Introduction
Considering the wide variety of mechanical movements observed in industry, it can be said that
oscillating flows account for a significant part of these movements. Flow inside reciprocating
pumps, internal and external combustion engines, heat exchangers, etc. are among such
movements. Hence in recent years the problem of oscillating flows and its related heat transfer in
pipes, channels and ducts have received considerable attention by researchers. In 1955 Womersley
gave an analytical solution of the problem of viscous fluid motion in a circular tube under the
periodic pressure gradient. He calculated viscous drag and flow rate. His results showed that there
is a phase-lag between pressure gradient and fluid velocity [1]. In 1955 Womersley in another
research gave an exact solution of the problem of viscous fluid flow in an elastic tube with thin
wall, under time dependent periodic pressure gradient. It was shown that pressure wave was the
cause of distortion in the tube wall and the longitudinal oscillation of it was an important factor in
determining flow rate [2]. In 1961 Atabek and Chang proposed an analytical solution for unsteady
oscillating flow in the entrance region of a circular tube. In order to simplify the momentum
equation it was assumed that the fluid velocity in inertia terms, in the entrance region is same as
the inlet velocity. They obtained the velocity profile in the entrance length versus the inlet velocity
frequency [3]. In 1995 Zhao and Cheng carried out a numerical solution on convective heat transfer
of reciprocating flow in a pipe with constant wall temperature. They pointed out that four
dimensionless parameters of Prandtl number, kinetic Reynold number, dimensionless oscillation
amplitude and length to diameter ratio govern convective heat transfer characteristic in

∗
Corresponding Author. Tel.: +98 54 31136465; Fax: +98 54 33447092
Email Address: fsarhaddi@eng.usb.ac.ir
Journal of Computational Applied Mechanics 2021, 52(4): 570-587 571

reciprocating flow in pipe. They proposed a correlation in terms of kinetic Reynold number, the
dimensionless oscillation amplitude and the length to diameter ratio for averaged Nusselt number
[4]. In 1996 Zhao and Cheng carried out an experimental and numerical study on oscillatory
laminar forced convection in a long circular tube under uniform heat flux. Their results showed
that the numerical result for cycle-averaged wall temperature, centerline fluid temperature and the
cycle averaged Nusselt number were in fair agreement with the obtained experimental data. They
proposed a correlation for the cycle-averaged Nusselt number of a laminar oscillatory air flow in
terms of appropriate similarity parameters by the experimental data [5]. In 1997 Guo and Sung
obtained an improved version of Nusselt number in a laminar pulsating flow in a circular pipe by
a numerical approach. Based on the obtained Nusselt number, the effect of the frequency and
pulsation amplitude on heat transfer rate was investigated and it was shown that in large pulsation
amplitude the most important factor that affects heat transfer enhancement is pulsation amplitude
[6]. In 1997 Moschandreou and Zamir carried out an exact solution for oscillating flow in the tube
with the wall of constant heat flux. They investigated the effect of pulsation frequency and Prandtl
number on heat transfer. Their results showed that fluid bulk temperature and the Nusselt number
were increased in the moderate range of frequency [7]. In 1997 Guo et al. carried out a numerical
study on the problem of heat transfer of pulsatile flow in a circular pipe filled partially with a porous
medium. In this research the effect of parameters such as thickness of porous layer, pulsating
frequency, Darcy number, ratio of effective thermal conductivity of porous material to fluid and
amplitude on heat transfer rate was investigated. It was shown that the increase of Darcy number
causes the decrease of the dependence of effective thermal diffusivity ratio on thickness of porous
layer. It was also shown that Nusselt number increases with increasing the thickness of porous
layer for high conducting porous media [8]. In 2002 Habib et al. carried out an experimental
research on the problem of heat transfer in laminar oscillating flow in a pipe with the wall of
uniform heat flux. The effect of oscillating flow frequency and different Reynolds number on heat
transfer characteristics were investigated experimentally. Their experimental data showed that the
effect of oscillating flow frequency on heat transfer characteristics is more than the effect of
Reynolds number [9]. In 2002 Hemida et al. investigated theoretically the effect of oscillation of
laminar incompressible flow on the heat transfer in a duct with the wall of constant heat flux. In
this research an exact solution of thermally fully developed region was given while for the thermal
entrance length a numerical solution was carried out using finite element method. According to the
solution a new coefficient in time average heat transfer equation of oscillating flow was defined.
The effect of parameters such as Prandtl number, oscillating frequency amplitude and Reynold
number on heat transfer rate was investigated. It was shown that oscillating flow with nonlinear
thermal boundary condition (natural convection, radiation) and also turbulence caused by
oscillation of flow, may result in increase of the time average Nusselt number [10]. In 2003 Sert
and Beskok carried out a numerical study on convective heat transfer of oscillating flow in a
channel with constant temperature at some part of top surface and uniform heat flux at the rest
while the bottom surface was insulated. The obtained results were compared with the result of the
corresponding one dimensional problem. The results of numerical solution included Nusselt
number, time-averaged and instantaneous bulk temperature as a function of Prandtl, Womersley
and penetration length. Their results showed that the steady one dimensional forced convection is
more effective than the oscillating flow forced convection [11]. In 2004 Yu et al. gave an exact
solution for oscillating laminar convective heat transfer in a circular tube under constant heat flux.
Their results showed that Nusselt number and temperature profile fluctuate about the solution of
steady laminar convection periodically. The amplitude of fluctuation is dependent on
dimensionless parameters such as dimensionless oscillation frequency, dimensionless amplitude
572 Sobhnamayan et al.

and the Prandtl number. Also, oscillation has no significant effect on time-average Nusselt number
[12]. In 2006 Tsangaris et al. gave an exact solution for laminar Newtonian fluid flow in a fully
developed region, driven by circumferential pressure gradient, between two concentric cylinders
with porous wall. They investigated the effect of some dimensionless parameters such as
Womersley number, ratio of the radii of the cylinders and transverse radial Reynolds number on
flow regime, pressure and velocity profile. Their results showed that for the low values of
frequency, the flow regime is quasi-steady and velocity amplitude equals nearly to the average
velocity of steady flow [13]. In 2013 Yin and Ma carried out an exact solution for heat transfer in
laminar oscillating flow in capillary tube with uniform heat flux as boundary condition. They used
the Bessel transform technique to solve the governing equations. Based on exact solution, Nusselt
number and temperature distribution were obtained. Also, they showed that Prandtle number,
dimensionless oscillating amplitude and frequency are important factors affecting heat transfer of
oscillating flow in capillary tubes [14]. In 2014 Yin and Ma investigated the effect of triangular
pressure wave on heat transfer of oscillating flow in a circular tube. According to their results it
was shown that oscillating waveform and fluid properties affect heat transfer coefficient. It was
also shown that triangular waveform enhances heat transfer rate [15]. In 2016 Zallama et al. carried
out a numerical study on the problem of forced convection by considering viscous dissipation in a
cylinder filled with porous medium. They obtained the temperature profile and investigated the
effect of different parameters such as Reynolds number, Darcy number, Eckert number,
Forchheimer coefficient on temperature fields. Their results showed that the temperature increases
with the increase of flow resistance in the porous region [16]. In 2016 Feldmann and Wagner
carried out a direct numerical simulation on oscillatory flow in pipe for different values of
dimensionless frequency and a specific shear Reynold number. They validated the results of direct
numerical simulation with the related experimental data. They investigated the effect of
asymmetric pressure of negative and positive half-cycle of reciprocating flow on velocity and
temperature profiles. Their results showed that there is an asymmetric behavior of velocity and
temperature at Womersley number of 6.5 [17]. In 2018 Jha and Yusuf carried out a numerical study
on transient free convection flow between two concentric vertical cylinders. The flow was viscous
and incompressible and its driving force was an internal heat generation source. The numerical data
was validated by the analytical form of the steady state solution. Their results showed that the
viscosity ratio is an important factor affects the impact of heat-absorbing /generating fluid [18]. In
2018 Yadav and Singh used Brinkman momentum equation to find the transient velocity profile of
fully developed flow in a pipe filled with porous medium. The driving force of the flow was a
constant pressure gradient (not pulsating). They used the separation of variables method to solve
the governing equations, analytically. They investigated the effect of non-dimensional parameters
such as Reynold number, Darcy number, Euler number and viscosity ratio on velocity profile. Their
results showed that the increase of Reynold number, Darcy number and Euler number causes the
increase of velocity while the viscosity ratio decreases the velocity [19]. In 2019 Brereton and Jalil
investigated the temperature field of laminar fully developed flow under oscillating pressure
gradient in pipes. They pointed out that there is no analytical solution for unsteady temperature
field at low Womersley numbers because of non-linearity of axial temperature variation. They
carried out an approximated quasi-steady analytical solution and showed that the axial conduction
is main factor of the axial temperature variation [20]. In 2019 Karmakar et al. carried out a
numerical analysis on forced convective heat transfer in a channel of constant heat flux and
impermeable wall filled with anisotropic porous medium. They obtained the Nusselt number,
temperature and velocity by considering Brinkman-Forchhimer extended Darcy model. They
investigated the effect of anisotropic angle and anisotropic permeability ratio on heat transfer and
Journal of Computational Applied Mechanics 2021, 52(4): 570-587 573

hydrodynamic characteristics. Their results showed that Nusselt number varies with the anisotropic
angle and ratio [21]. In 2020 Jalil studied numerically the effect of viscous heat dissipation on
temperature field in oscillatory airflow in a circular tube. He proposed a correlation in terms of
axial tidal displacement and Womersly number to determine dissipative bulk heating in oscillatory
airflow. According to the correlation, viscous heat dissipation is important in high axial tidal
displacement and Womersly number [22]. In 2020 Song and Rau investigated the hydrodynamic
behavior of fluid motion inside a rotating cylindrical tank. The tank was rotating with an angular
velocity which was varied from the rest state to a harmonic oscillation. They obtained an analytical
solution for velocity profile in terms of dimensionless time and cylinder radius. Their results
showed that dimensionless cylinder radius is an important factor to define the high velocity region
near cylinder wall. In 2021 Pier and Schmid studied transient energy amplification in
incompressible viscous oscillating flow in channels and pipes of constant diameter. They used a
numerical method to solve the continuity, momentum and energy equation in order to obtain
velocity field, flow rate and flow energy transfer. They found that at low oscillating amplitude,
flow dynamics is so similar to corresponding steady flow. Their results showed that the important
parameters affect transient energy amplification are, Reynolds number, Womersley numbers,
perturbation wavenumbers and oscillation amplitude [24]. In 2021 Feldmann et al. investigated
spatiotemporal intermittency of turbulence in pulsatile pipe flows and carried out the direct
numerical simulation with two strategy. The first one, direct numerical simulation starting from a
statistically steady pipe flow and the second one direct numerical simulation starting from the
laminar Sexl–Womersley flow. They showed that optimal perturbation cannot maintain turbulence
after the first pulsation period and, spatiotemporally intermittent turbulence maintain just for
multiple periods if puffs are triggered [25]. In addition to analytical or numerical methods, the
approximated-analytical methods can be used as an effective tool to solve oscillating flows [26,27].
Literature review shows that the investigation of pulsating flow and heat transfer in a pipe fully
filled with porous material has not been carried out analytically. Therefore, the present research
deals with this subject matter. In the present study, the problem statement and the governing
equations is expressed. An analytical solution for velocity and temperature profiles is developed.
Validation and parametric studies are other steps of the present study.

2. Problem Statement
The geometry and coordinate system of the problem are given in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 Geometry of the problem

574 Sobhnamayan et al.

The pipe is filled with a porous medium with constant permeability. The radius of pipe is a. The
outer surface of pipe is imposed to a constant uniform heat flux. The main assumptions of the
problem are as follows
• Driving force of flow is an unsteady pulsating pressure gradient.
• The fluid is incompressible and Newtonian.
• Porous medium is homogeneous and isotropic.
• Thermo-physical properties of the fluid and porous medium are independent of the
temperature.
• Hydrodynamically and thermally fully developed conditions are considered.

3. Governing Equations
In this section, the governing equations of pulsating flow and its related heat transfer are presented.
Due to hydrodynamically fully developed flow and axial symmetry condition, the angular and
radial components of fluid velocity is zero. Therefore, the fluid flow is in the direction of the pipe

1
axis. The Brinkman momentum equation of the present problem is written as follows [19]
=− + + − (1)

(0, ) = finite,
Hydrodynamic boundary conditions of the problem are given as follows

( , ) = 0,
( , 0) = 0.
(2)

The unsteady pulsating pressure gradient drives the flow in the pipe is as follows [27]
= − cos($ ), (3)

where , , , , , , $, , , , and are axial velocity, pressure, amplitude of pressure

gradient oscillations, Brinkman effective viscosity, fluid viscosity, fluid density, pulsating flow
frequency, permeability, pipe radius, radial direction, axial direction and time, respectively.

) ) ) 1 ) )
The energy equation of the present problem is as follows [27]
&' ( + *=+ + + (4)

)(0, , ) = finite,
Thermal boundary conditions of the problem are as follows [27]

)( , , )
+ = , -- ,
)( , 0, ) = ). ,
(5)
)( , ∞, )~ ,
)( , , 0) = 0.
where ), ). , , -- , &' and + are fluid temperature, inlet fluid temperature, constant heat flux on
boundary, specific heat capacity, and conductivity, respectively.
The following non-dimensional quantities are introduced to obtain the non-dimensional form of
the governing equations and the boundary conditions [12,14,19,27].
2 43 5 68 : >:; 3 ? C
1= , = , 7 = 5, 9 = , < = $, 1=4 = , @ = A, B = 5, (6)
3 6 3 :; ? ? 3
Journal of Computational Applied Mechanics 2021, 52(4): 570-587 575

4 ) − ). &'
̅=
< E, F=
1=4
, H=
, --
, =
+
, = = 1=4 ,
+
where E, , =, 1=4 , @ and B are kinematic viscosity, Prandtl number, Peclet number, Reynolds
number, viscosity ratio parameter and Darcy number, respectively.
3.1. Velocity Profile

9 9 1 9 1
Dimensionless momentum equation and its boundary conditions are as follows
= ̅cos( 7) + @ + − 9,
7 1 1 1 B
9(0, 7) = finite, (7)
9(1, 7) = 0,
9(1, 0) = 0.
In order to solve Eq. (7) by complex analysis technique, a complementary equation is defined as

9∗ 9∗ 1 9∗ 1 ∗
follows
= ̅sin( 7) + @ + − 9 ,
7 1 1 1 B
9 ∗ (0, 7) = finite, (8)
9 ∗ (1, 7) = 0,
9 ∗ (1, 0) = 0.

9J J 1 9
9 J 1
The summation of Eq. (7) and Eq. (8) gives an auxiliary problem of velocity profile as follows
= ̅= KLM + @ + − J,
9
7 1 1 1 B
J(0, 7) = finite,
9
J
(9)
9(1, 7) = 0,
J(1, 0) = 0.
9
J and = KLM are defined as follows
Here, the parameters 9
J(1, 7) = 9(1, 7) + N9 ∗ (1, 7)
9 (10)
= KLM = cos( 7) + N sin( 7) (11)

J(1, 7) = O(1)= KLM

9
Due to pulsating nature of flow, the velocity profile can be considered as following [10,27]
(12)

P O 1 PO ̅
Substituting Eq. (12) into Eq. (9), an ordinary differential equation is obtained as follows
+ −Q O =− ,
P1 1 P1 @
O(0) = finite,
(13)
O(1) = 0.
Here, the parameter Q is defined as follows
1 1
Q =R ( +N *
@ B
(14)

̅ S. (Q1)
Analytical solution of Eq. (13) gives
O(1) = 1−
@Q S. (Q)
(15)

Here, S. (Q1) is the zero order modified Bessel function of the first kind. This function can be
approximated by the first three terms of its power series as follows [28]
576 Sobhnamayan et al.

1 W
U (Q1) V
Z
(Q1) (Q1)]
S. (Q1) = T 4 ≈1+ +
(X!) 4 64
(16)
W[.

̅ S. (Q1) KLM
Finally, the velocity profile of the problem is obtained as follows
J(1, 7)c = Real
9(1, 7) = Realb9 1− =
@Q S. (Q)
(17)

Here, the phrase of “Real” shows the real part of a complex number.
3.2. Temperature Profile

H H H 1 H 16 H
The dimensionless form of the energy equation and its boundary conditions are as follows
+ 29 = + + ,
7 F 1 1 1 = F
H(0, F, 7) = finite,
H(1, F, 7)
= 1,
1
(18)
H(1, 0, 7) = 0,
H(1, ∞, 7)~F,
H(1, F, 0) = 0.

H∗ H∗ H ∗ 1 H ∗ 16 H∗
The complementary equation of Eq. (18) is defined as follows
+ 29 ∗ = + + ,
7 F 1 1 1 = F
H ∗ (0, F, 7) = finite,
H ∗ (1, F, 7)
= 1,
1
(19)
∗ (1,
H 0, 7) = 0,
∗ (1,
H ∞, 7)~F,
H ∗ (1, F, 0) = 0.

H̅ H̅ H̅ 1 H̅ 16 H̅
The auxiliary problem of the temperature profile is obtained as follows
+ 29 J = + + ,
7 F 1 1 1 = F
H̅ (0, F, 7) = finite,
H̅ (1, F, 7)
= 1,
1
(20)
H̅ (1, 0, 7) = 0,
H̅ (1, ∞, 7)~F,
H̅ (1, F, 0) = 0.
Where the dimensionless temperature of H̅ is defined as follows
H̅ (1, F, 7) = H(1, F, 7) + NH ∗ (1, F, 7) (21)
The Eq. (20) is a partial differential equation with nonhomogeneous boundary conditions. It can be

H̅ (1, F, 7) = He̅ (1, F) + H̅8 (1, 7)

divided in to a steady and transient part as follows [10,12,14]
(22)

He̅ 1 He̅ 16 He̅

The equation of steady part can be obtained as follows
+ + = 0,
1 1 1 = F
He̅ (0, F) = finite,
(23)
Journal of Computational Applied Mechanics 2021, 52(4): 570-587 577

He̅ (1, F)
= 1,
1
He̅ (1, 0) = 0,
He̅ (1, ∞)~F.

He̅ (1, F) = f(1) + g(F).

The solution of steady temperature can be considered as follows [12,14]
(24)

P f 1 Pf 16 P g
A set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) is obtained by substituting Eq. (24) into Eq. (23)
+ =− = &,
P1 1 P1 = PF
f(0) = finite,
Pf(1)
= 1,
(25)
P1
g(0) = 0,
g(∞)~F.

1
The analytical solution of the above ODEs gives
f(1) = ,
2
g(F) = F.
(26)

1
Therefore, the steady part of temperature and its derivative are as follows
He̅ (1, F) = + F.
2
(27)
He̅
= 1.
F
(28)

H̅8 H̅ H̅8 1 H̅8

The equation of the transient part can be obtained as follows
J e=
+ 29 + ,
7 F 1 1 1
H̅8 (0, 7) = finite,
H̅8 (1, 7)
(29)
= 0,
1
H̅8 (1, 0) = 0.
Due to pulsating nature of the problem, the profiles of velocity and transient temperature can be
̅ S. (Q1) KLM ̅ Q 1 Q ] 1] KLM
written as follows [10,27]
J(1, 7) = O(1)= KLM =
9 1− = = S. (Q) − 1 − − =
@Q S. (Q) @Q S. (Q) 4 64
(30)
H̅8 (1, 7) = h(1)= KLM (31)
Substituting Eq. (30) and Eq. (31) into Eq. (29), an ordinary differential equation is obtained as

P h 1 Ph
follows
+ − i h = 2O,
P1 1 P1
h(0) = finite,
Ph(1)
(32)
= 0.
P1
Here, the parameter i is defined as follows
i=√ N (33)
The analytical solution of Eq. (32) gives
578 Sobhnamayan et al.

̅ i Q + 8(i + Q ) Q 1] (i + Q )1 2(i + Q )
h(1) = − S (i1) + + +
@S. (Q) 8i Sm
l (i) .
32i 2i ] in
2(1 − S. (Q))
(34)
+
i Q

1
Finally, the temperature profile of the problem is obtained as follows
H(1, F, 7) = Real UH̅ (1, F, 7)V = Real UHe̅ (1, F) + H̅8 (1, 7)V = Real + F + h(1)= KLM
2
(35)

4. Validation
In the previous literature [1-29], no research was found that exactly matches the present study.
However, by changing some parameters, the present problem can be adapted to other simplified
cases. Yin and Ma [14] presented an analytical solution of pulsating flow and heat transfer in a
pipe (without porous medium) based on Bessel transform technique. Their problem included a

If @ = 1 and B = ∞ are chosen, the solution of the present problem can adapted with the transient
pulsating flow superposed on a steady flow. In the present study there is only an oscillating flow.

part of the solution of Yin and Ma [14]. The oscillating part of velocity and temperature profiles of
Z
Yin and Ma [14] are as follows
o. W cos( 7) + sin( 7)
9(1, 7) = 2 ̅ T p. bo. W 1c,
o. W pm bo. W cb + o. ]W c
(36)
W[m
H̅8 (1, 7)
Z
om W bq − om W qmW ccos( 7) + bom W q − qmW csin( 7) p. bom W 1c
=8 ̅T
W W
,
(37)
+ om ]W pm bom W c
W[m
where qmW and q W
Z
are defined as follows [14]
o. <
qmW = T ,
b + o. ]< cbo. < − om W c
(38)
<[m
Z

q W = T .
b + o. ]< cbo. < − om W c
(39)
<[m
Here, o. and om are the eigenvalues of the first kind Bessel function of the zero order and the first
order, respectively.
Fig. 2 compares the velocity profile of the present study with the velocity profile of Yin and Ma
[14] for the different values of dimensionless frequency.

different values of dimensionless frequency ( ̅ = 10, @ = 1, B = ∞, 7 = 300).

Fig. 2 Comparison of the velocity profile of the present study with the velocity profile of Yin and Ma [14] for the
Journal of Computational Applied Mechanics 2021, 52(4): 570-587 579

Fig. 3 shows the transient temperature profile of the present study and Yin and Ma [14] in the
different values of dimensionless frequency.

dimensionless frequency ( ̅ = 10, @ = 1, B = ∞, = 1, 7 = 300).

Fig. 3 Transient temperature profile of the present study and Yin and Ma [14] in the different values of

According to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, it is observed that the results of the present study for the velocity
and temperature profiles are consistent with the results reported by Yin and Ma [14].

5. Parametric Studies
In this section the effect of various design parameters on the velocity and temperature profiles are
studied. The constant parameters during the parametric studies are listed below of each figure. The

1
maximum value of velocity and temperature are defined as follows [20]
9<3r = s93tu s = v x 9(1, 7)Pwv,
w
(40)
1
H<3r = sH3tu s = v x H(1, 7)Pwv.
w
(41)

temperature. Here, 93tu and H3tu are the cross-sectional area averaged velocity and temperature,
The maximum value of velocity and temperature equal with the amplitude of velocity and

respectively.
5.1. Effect of Design Parameters on the Velocity Profile
Fig. 4 shows the variations of maximum velocity in terms of dimensionless frequency for different
values of the Darcy number.

( ̅ = 10, @ = 1).
Fig. 4 Variations of maximum velocity in terms of dimensionless frequency for different values of the Darcy number
580 Sobhnamayan et al.

According to Fig. 4 it is observed that by increasing Darcy number, maximum velocity increases.
The value of velocity increase in high Darcy numbers is not very high (less than 5%). Increasing
Darcy number means eliminating the effect of the porous medium inside the pipe. Therefore, the
frictional resistance against the flow decreases and the maximum velocity increases. On the other
hands, by increasing the dimensionless frequency, the maximum velocity decreases. The increase
of dimensionless frequency decreases the oscillations amplitude of velocity profile. The amplitude
is the height of wave peak and the frequency is the number of oscillations in a second. Increase of
frequency increases the number of oscillations in a second and decreases the height of wave peak
(amplitude). Therefore, the maximum velocity decreases.
In the Fig. 5 the effect of viscosity ratio parameter on the maximum velocity for the different values
of dimensionless frequency is drawn.

frequency ( ̅ = 10, B = 1).

Fig. 5 Effect of viscosity ratio parameter on the maximum velocity for the different values of dimensionless

Fig. 5 shows that the maximum velocity is increased by decreasing the viscosity ratio parameter.
The decrease of 70% of viscosity ratio parameter causes the increase of 60% of velocity. For the
low value of the viscosity ratio parameter, the Brinkman effective viscosity is less than the fluid
viscosity and the effect of the porous medium decreases. Therefore, the maximum velocity
increases. According to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, it is concluded that the increase of the Darcy number
(permeability) and the decrease of the viscosity ratio parameter (Brinkman effective viscosity)
enhance the velocity value.
In Fig. 6 the effect of dimensionless amplitude of pressure gradient oscillation on the maximum
velocity for the different values of dimensionless frequency is shown.

values of dimensionless frequency (@ = 0.3, B = 1).

Fig. 6 Effect of dimensionless amplitude of pressure gradient oscillations on the maximum velocity for the different
Journal of Computational Applied Mechanics 2021, 52(4): 570-587 581

According to Fig. 6, the increase of the dimensionless amplitude of pressure gradient increases the
maximum velocity. The increase of velocity with the amplitude is almost linear. The pulsating
pressure gradient is the driving force of the flow. It is clear that the increase of the dimensionless
amplitude causes the increase of pulsating pressure gradient and consequently the increase of
maximum velocity.
In order to obtain a better conception of velocity profile variations, the velocity profile for the
different values of dimensionless time is plotted in Fig. 7.

Fig. 7 Velocity profile for the different values of dimensionless time ( ̅ = 10, @ = 0.3, B = 1, = 7).

It is seen from Fig. 7 that due to the cosine nature of pulsating pressure gradient, the change of
dimensionless time causes the periodic reverse flow in the pipe. Therefore, the velocity profile also
has periodical variations with respect to dimensionless time. The absolute value of velocity varies
between 0 and 1.5.

5.2. Effect of Design Parameters on the Temperature Profile

The variations of maximum temperature versus the dimensionless frequency for different values
of the Darcy number is shown in Fig. 8.

number ( ̅ = 10, @ = 1, = 1, F = 1).

Fig. 8. Variations of maximum temperature versus the dimensionless frequency for different values of the Darcy
582 Sobhnamayan et al.

According to Fig. 8, by increasing Darcy number the maximum temperature increases. The increase
of Darcy number decreases the effect of porous medium on flow velocity inside the pipe. The
decrease of permeability increases the flow velocity. Therefore, the maximum fluid temperature
increases by advection process. On the other hand, the increase of dimensionless frequency
decreases the oscillations amplitude of temperature profile and the maximum temperature.
Fig. 9 shows the effect of viscosity ratio parameter on the maximum temperature for the different
values of dimensionless frequency.

frequency ( ̅ = 10, B = 1, = 1, F = 1).

Fig. 9 Effect of viscosity ratio parameter on the maximum temperature for the different values of dimensionless

As can be observed from Fig. 9, the increase of viscosity ratio parameter decreases the maximum
temperature. Changes in viscosity ratio from 0.1 to 1.5 lead to a change in temperature from 7 to
1.7. The increase of viscosity ratio parameter means the increase of the Brinkman effective
viscosity. Therefore, the fluid shear stress increases and consequently the velocity and temperature
decrease.
Fig. 10 presents the effect of dimensionless amplitude of pressure gradient oscillations on the
maximum temperature for the different values of dimensionless frequency.

different values of dimensionless frequency (@ = 0.3, B = 1, = 1, F = 1).

Fig. 10 Effect of dimensionless amplitude of pressure gradient oscillations on the maximum temperature for the
Journal of Computational Applied Mechanics 2021, 52(4): 570-587 583

According to Fig. 10, increasing the amplitude of pressure gradient oscillations increases the
maximum temperature. This increase is almost linear. The driving force of flow is the pulsating
pressure gradient. The increase of amplitude of pressure gradient increases the flow velocity and
the increase of flow velocity increases the maximum temperature by advection process.
In Fig. 11, the effect of Prandtl number on the maximum temperature for the different values of
dimensionless frequency is depicted.

( ̅ = 10, @ = 0.3, B = 1, F = 1).

Fig. 11 Effect of Prandtl number on the maximum temperature for the different values of dimensionless frequency

It is observed from Fig. 11 that with the increase of Prandtl number, the maximum temperature

diffusivity. For small values of Prandtl number ( < 1), thermal diffusivity dominates over
decreases. The Prandtl number is defined as the ratio of momentum diffusivity to thermal

momentum diffusivity. Therefore, the maximum temperature is higher in low Prandtl numbers.
Fig. 12 shows the variations of the maximum temperature with respect to the dimensionless pipe
length.

Fig. 12 Variations of the maximum temperature with respect to the dimensionless pipe length ( ̅ = 10, @ = 0.3,
B = 1, = 7, = 1).
584 Sobhnamayan et al.

Considering Fig. 12, it is observed that the maximum temperature increases linearly by increasing
the dimensionless length of pipe. It is a common knowledge in convection heat transfer that the
temperature slope is constant for flow inside the pipe under uniform heat flux. The results of Fig.
12 also follow this fact. There is a reverse axial conduction in a pipe under uniform heat flux. This
inverse axial conduction prevents the exponential growth of temperature. Therefore, the
temperature variation is linear.
In order to more comprehensive study, a sample of temperature profiles is given in Fig. 13.

Fig. 13 Temperature profile for the different values of dimensionless time ( ̅ = 10, @ = 0.3, B = 1, = 7,
= 1, F = 1).
It is observed from Fig. 13 that the temperature decreases from the pipe wall to the pipe center. Its
reason is clear. The pipe wall is subject to a constant heat flux. The fluid near the wall is definitely
hotter than the fluid in the center of the pipe. On the other hands, due to the periodical nature of
the flow, the temperature also has periodical variations with respect to dimensionless time.

6. Conclusion
In the present study using the complex analysis the hydrodynamic and thermal governing equations
of a pulsating flow in a pipe filled with porous medium is solved analytically. The concluding
remarks of the present study are as follows
• The analytical results of the present study obtained by the complex analysis technique are
consistent with other analytical techniques such as the Bessel transform technique.

B and ̅ while decreases with the increase of @,

• The pulsating effect on maximum velocity and temperature increases with the increase of
and .
• Due to the presence of reverse axial conduction, the temperature variations with respect to
dimensionless axial length is linear.
• For high frequency values, the maximum velocity and temperature tend to be constant due
to the decrease in wave amplitude.

Nomenclature
radius of pipe (m)

̅
amplitude of pressure gradient oscillations (Pa/m)

&
dimensionless amplitude of pressure gradient oscillations
constant of separation
Journal of Computational Applied Mechanics 2021, 52(4): 570-587 585

&' specific heat capacity (J/kg.oC)

B
qm
Darcy number

q
constant defined by Eq. (38)

g
constant defined by Eq. (39)

O
function defined by Eq. (26)

f
function defined by Eq. (15)

h
function defined by Eq. (26)

N
function defined by Eq. (34)

S.
unit imaginary number

p.
zero order modified Bessel function of the first kind

pm
zero order Bessel function of the first kind

+
first order Bessel function of the first kind
thermal conductivity (W/m.oC)
@ viscosity ratio parameter

=
pressure (Pa)
Peclet number

,
Prandtl number
--
constant heat flux (W/m2)

1
radial direction

1=4
dimensionless radial direction
Reynolds number
Real
o.
real part of a complex number

om
eigenvalues of the first kind Bessel function of the zero order
eigenvalues of the first kind Bessel function of the first order

)
time (s)
temperature (oC)
). inlet temperature (oC)
velocity (m/s)
<
9
reference velocity (m/s)

9<3r
dimensionless velocity

J
9
dimensionless maximum velocity

9
dimensionless velocity in auxiliary problem
∗
dimensionless velocity in complementary problem

F
axial direction
dimensionless axial direction
Greek symbols
i
Q
constant defined by Eq. (33)

H
constant defined by Eq. (14)

H<3r
dimensionless temperature

H̅
dimensionless maximum temperature

H
dimensionless temperature in auxiliary problem
∗

H8̅
dimensionless temperature in complementary problem

He̅
transient part of dimensionless temperature
steady part of dimensionless temperature
permeability (m2)
fluid viscosity (N.s/ m2)
Brinkman effective viscosity (N.s/m2)
586 Sobhnamayan et al.

E kinematic viscosity (m2/s)

fluid density (kg/m3)
7
$
dimensionless time
pulsating flow frequency (Hz)
dimensionless pulsating flow frequency

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