Combustion
Research into combustion processes aims to improve the efficiency with which we utilise both fossil fuels and the new chemical energy carriers being produced from renewable sources of energy. It also aims to minimise or eliminate altogether the harmful effects of these high-temperature processes – essential in so many materials-processing, manufacturing, electricity-generating and transport applications – on air quality and the climate.
Research projects in the field of combustion conducted by the Thermofluids group fall into two general categories, outlined below.
Internal Combustion Engines
- Evaluating a cleaning method for the Diesel Particulate Filter
- Fuel system cleaning fluid for HDi Diesel car and van engines
- Co-fuelling of a Diesel engine
- Commissioning and testing of a Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) fuel system
Fundamental Aspects of Combustion
- Ultralean and flameless combustion
- Thermoacoustic oscillations in applications involving the use of premixed flames
- Aerodynamic influences on flame structure and on heat transfer from flames
The above animation shows small flames on a modern low-emission gas burner oscillating at a frequency of 600 Hz as part of an unwanted thermoacoustic resonance. The flow is visualised in slow motion by a planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) technique.
