Evaporation and Combustion of the Nanofluid-type Fuels at Elevated Temperatures and Pressures

纳米流体型燃料在高温高压下的蒸发和燃烧

• 批准号: 1134006
• 负责人: Li Qiao
• 金额: $ 30.48万
• 依托单位: Purdue University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-08-01 至 2015-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1134006&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Evaporation; Combustion; Nanofluid; type; Fuels

1134006QiaoThe goal of this research is to develop a fundamental understanding of the evaporation and combustion behavior of nanofluid-type fuels as well as the underlying mechanisms that are responsible for this behavior. Nanofluid fuels, an exciting new class of nanotechnology-based fuels, are liquid fuels with stable suspension of nanometer-sized particles. Depending on the physical, chemical, and electrical properties of the added nanomaterials, nanofluid fuels can achieve better performance, e.g., increased energy density, easier and faster ignition, enhanced catalytic effects, improved combustion efficiency, and reduced emissions. However, knowledge about nanofluid fuels remains very limited. Our research proposes to start down the path of developing a fundamental understanding of nanofluid-type fuels. This work will help to explain the fundamental mechanisms of how the addition of nanoscale materials to liquid fuels can enhance combustion performance. The research objectives include understanding (1) The interfacial properties and colloidal stability of nanofluid fuels; (2) The effects of particle addition on droplet evaporation and the ignition process, especially the role of thermal radiation; (3) The effects of various nanomaterials on the burning characteristics of small droplets at elevated temperatures and pressures.Intellectual Merit: The novelty and strength of the proposal are threefold: (1) Nanofluid-type fuels are a new class of fuels and have been rarely studied by the combustion community. This project will unravel the controlling physics and chemistry of these fuels for the first time, thereby developing significant new knowledge and understanding. (2) The proposal is interdisciplinary by nature. It stands at the intersection of nanotechnology, colloidal science, mass and heat transport, and combustion science. Therefore this proposal has the potential to enlarge our knowledge base on several frontiers of science at once. (3) The proposed work is transformational because it will, for the first time, provide a quantitative understanding of how the addition of various nanoscale materials affects the evaporation and combustion processes of liquid fuels. This understanding will provide important guidelines for the optimized use of nanomaterials in terms of material, surface functionalization, particle size, and concentration in liquid fuels to achieve the desired performance.Broader Impacts: The social benefits of this study lie in the areas of fuel economy, pollution control, and aerospace and space applications. In aerospace engineering, interest is increasing in developing a new generation of hypersonic flights, which largely depend on the ability to use liquid fuels that offer high energy density, short ignition delays, and high reaction rates. The nanofluid-type fuels with addition of nanoenergetics or nanocatalysts could potentially solve this problem. Nanofluid fuels can also be used for power/thrust generation under special circumstances. They can provide higher power or thrust for a longer time for compact systems where the volume of the carried fuel is limited, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or power Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS). They can also provide reliable and easy ignition of fuel for devices under extreme conditions, such as extremely lean combustion conditions or very low temperatures. Furthermore, the nanofluid fuels containing various nanostructured ignition agents may allow for the distributed ignition of fuels, which could greatly improve combustion efficiencies. The automobile industry has tested the idea of adding a small amount of nanocatalysts to diesel fuels and heavy oils, which shows improved combustion efficiency and simultaneously reduced particular and NOx emissions. Potential dramatic increases in fuel efficiency and decreases in pollutant emissions because of novel tailored fuels can lower fuel consumption, improve public health, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Lastly, the PI will collaborate with the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program to recruit minority students to participate in research.

[134006 .乔]本研究的目标是对纳米流体型燃料的蒸发和燃烧行为以及导致这种行为的潜在机制有一个基本的了解。纳米流体燃料是一种基于纳米技术的令人兴奋的新型燃料，它是一种具有稳定悬浮的纳米级颗粒的液体燃料。根据所添加纳米材料的物理、化学和电学性质，纳米流体燃料可以实现更好的性能，例如提高能量密度、更容易和更快地点火、增强催化效果、提高燃烧效率和减少排放。然而，关于纳米流体燃料的知识仍然非常有限。我们的研究计划从发展对纳米流体型燃料的基本理解开始。这项工作将有助于解释在液体燃料中添加纳米级材料如何提高燃烧性能的基本机制。研究目标包括：(1)纳米流体燃料的界面特性和胶体稳定性；(2)颗粒添加对液滴蒸发和点火过程的影响，特别是热辐射的作用；(3)不同纳米材料对高温高压下小液滴燃烧特性的影响。该建议的新颖性和优势在于：(1)纳米流体型燃料是一种新型燃料，很少被燃烧界研究。该项目将首次揭示这些燃料的控制物理和化学，从而发展重要的新知识和理解。(2)本提案具有跨学科性质。它是纳米技术、胶体科学、质量和热传递以及燃烧科学的交汇点。因此，这一建议有可能立即扩大我们在几个科学前沿的知识基础。(3)这项工作具有变革性，因为它将首次定量地了解各种纳米级材料的添加如何影响液体燃料的蒸发和燃烧过程。这种理解将为在材料、表面功能化、颗粒大小和液体燃料浓度方面优化纳米材料的使用提供重要的指导，以实现所需的性能。更广泛的影响：这项研究的社会效益在于燃料经济、污染控制以及航空航天和空间应用领域。在航空航天工程中，开发新一代高超音速飞行的兴趣正在增加，这在很大程度上取决于使用具有高能量密度、短点火延迟和高反应速率的液体燃料的能力。添加纳米能量学或纳米催化剂的纳米流体型燃料有望解决这一问题。纳米流体燃料也可用于在特殊情况下产生动力/推力。它们可以为携带燃料体积有限的紧凑型系统提供更长时间的更高功率或推力，例如无人驾驶飞行器（uav）或动力微机电系统（MEMS）。它们还可以在极端条件下为设备提供可靠和容易的燃料点火，例如极贫燃烧条件或极低温度。此外，含有各种纳米结构点火剂的纳米流体燃料可能允许燃料的分布式点火，这可以大大提高燃烧效率。汽车工业已经测试了在柴油和重油中添加少量纳米催化剂的想法，这表明燃烧效率得到提高，同时减少了特定和氮氧化物的排放。由于新型定制燃料可以降低燃料消耗，改善公众健康，并减少我们对外国石油的依赖，从而可能大幅提高燃油效率，减少污染物排放。最后，PI将与路易斯·斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟（LSAMP）项目合作，招募少数民族学生参与研究。