Turbulent combustion and microfluidics

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The proposed research is directed at making advancements in two fields: pool fires and microfluidics.   Potential safety concerns associated with the accidental ignition of flammable liquid (e.g., fuels such as gasoline, solvents such as acetone, and cooking oils of all types) that surround us make the pool fire work of interest.  These liquids are highly concentrated forms of chemical energy and pose considerable hazard when burning.  The proposed research explores the effects of an air flow across the pool surface (e.g., wind).  Most previous research was done on the pathological case of perfectly calm ambient air, while preliminary work shows that even small air speeds can profoundly affect the burning rate.  The goal is to better understand these kinds of pool fires over a wide range of sizes, and to provide engineers with models to predict pool fire behavior.   The microfluidics work is of interest due to its relation to porous membrane filtration and the development of small scale systems, in particular, devices that allow the direct conversion of the energy from a flowing liquid to electricity.  The research specifically considers channels of finite length, and so focus is on the flows at the inlets and outlets of the channels and the electrodes that extract the power from the system.  The work will blend the goals of furthering our basic understanding of these finite systems and the practicalities of maximizing energy conversion efficiencies.