Fundamental Studies of Accelerated Low Temperature Combustion Kinetics by Nonequilibrium Plasmas

1402640等离子体通常用于促进燃料的燃烧，特别是那些难以点燃或难以持续燃烧的燃料，因为它们可能在低温下燃烧。 该提案的重点是获得有助于了解等离子体如何在这些不利条件下促进燃料燃烧的数据。 合作PI和俄亥俄州都柏林城市学校系统之间将建立一个合作安排。 这个推广计划将包括现场课堂演示，虚拟课堂参观，并在都柏林专业实习计划的参与。 该计划还将以多种方式推进“发现和理解”。 除了研究生的参与，该计划将包括本科生的积极参与。 该计划还将对美国（和世界）的科学基础设施产生重大影响。 特别是，从该计划产生的低温数据集将提供给世界各地的研究人员，用于模型开发和验证。 合作PI和学生是美国和国外科学会议的定期贡献者，并维护一个全面的网站。拟议的计划侧重于非平衡等离子体加速低温燃烧动力学的实验和建模研究。 目标是生成大量的基准低温（~400 - 850 K）数据，这些数据将为H2/空气和各种碳氢化合物/空气混合物中最重要的等离子体增强燃料氧化过程提供新的物理见解，特别是非平衡振动和亚稳态电子态物种以及关键自由基物种（如O，H和OH）的大型非平衡池的作用。 该方法将利用一套广泛的激光诊断进行测量的时间演变的电子密度和温度，重物种的旋转/平移温度，N2和H2的振动分布函数，和选定的物种浓度后，应用一个单一的纳秒持续时间的放电脉冲。 实验将在一对互补的纳秒等离子体放电单元中进行，这两个单元都将产生具有良好光学通道的扩散等离子体。

1402640LempertPlasmas are often used to facilitate burning of fuels, especially those either difficult to ignite or to sustain burning, as they might be burning at low temperatures. This proposal focuses on obtaining data that would help to understand how plasmas facilitate fuel burning under these unfavorable conditions. A collaborative arrangement will be established between the co-PIs and the Dublin, OH city school system. This outreach program will include live in-classroom demonstrations, virtual classroom visits, and participation in the Dublin Professional Internship Program. The program will also advance "discovery and understanding" in several ways. In addition to the participation of graduate students, the program will include active participation of undergraduates. The program will also significantly impact the scientific infrastructure in the U.S (and the world). In particular, the low temperature data sets generated from this program will be made available to researchers world-wide for model development and validation. The co-PIs and students are regular contributors to scientific meetings in the U.S. and abroad, and maintain a comprehensive web site.The proposed program focuses on experimental and modeling studies of the acceleration of low temperature combustion kinetics by non-equilibrium plasmas. The goal is to generate extensive sets of benchmark low temperature (~400 - 850K) data that will provide new physical insight into the most important plasma-enhanced fuel oxidation processes in H2/air and a variety of hydrocarbon/air mixtures, in particular the role of non-equilibrium vibrational and metastable electronic state species and large non-equilibrium pools of key radical species such as O, H, and OH. The methodology will utilize an extensive suite of laser diagnostics to perform measurements of the temporal evolution of electron density and temperature, heavy species rotational/translational temperature, N2 and H2 vibrational distribution function, and selected species concentrations after application of a single nano-sec duration discharge pulse. Experiments will be performed in a complimentary pair of nano-second plasma discharge cells, both of which will produce diffuse plasmas with excellent optical access.