Sundar Ram Manikandan
(Advisor: Prof. Adam M. Steinberg)

will propose his master’s thesis entitled,

Experimental characterization of NVPM in a laminar premixed jet flame at elevated pressure using thermophoretic sampling and transmission electron microscopy

On

 Wednesday, July 14 at 10 a.m.
BlueJeans Meeting: https://bluejeans.com/4013607797
 

Abstract

Production and subsequent emissions of non-volatile particulate matter (nvPM), commonly known as soot, from aviation gas turbine engines has several detrimental effects. These include (i) reduced combustion efficiency and combustor durability due to radiative heat transfer; (ii) detrimental impact on local populations exposed to nvPM; and (iii) significant radiative forcing leading to climate change. Hence, understanding and mitigating nvPM production is an important, but challenging goal in gas turbine combustor design.

Key to enabling nvPM mitigation is in situ measurement using non-intrusive laser diagnostics, one of the most important of which is laser induced incandescence (LII). However, interpreting LII signals is challenging, particularly at conditions of relevance to practical gas turbines. In order to quantitatively use LII in gas turbines, the LII measurements must be calibrated and validated against physical nvPM samples.

The objectives of the proposed thesis are to (i) design, deploy, and operate a system to thermophoretically collect physical nvPM samples in canonical premixed laminar flames burning Jet A fuel at elevated pressure; (ii) extract and analyze nvPM samples using transmission electron microscopy to determine important physical attributes; and (iii) compare the physical samples to properties deduced using time resolved LII (TiRe-LII). The flames studied are relevant to potential future combustors burning fuel-lean premixed flames for supersonic transport engines. The resultant data will both provide fundamental information regarding nvPM formation in these systems and enable the accurate use of TiRe-LII in realistic combustors.
 

Committee

• Prof. Adam Michael Steinberg   – School of Aerospace Engineering (Advisor)
• Prof. Ellen Yi Chen Mazumdar – School of Mechanical Engineering
• Prof. Wenting Sun                     – School of Aerospace Engineering