Presidential Young Investigator Award: Catalytic Combustion

催化稳定燃烧是在控制良好、均匀的条件下提取能量的一种很有前途的方法。这些改进将通过广泛的测量和计算技术在实验室中得到记录。激光诱导荧光将是诊断的主要形式，而超级计算机将允许准确地解释化学动力学。此外，还将研究非稳定条件和碳烟的形成。催化将实现比目前活塞和涡轮发动机更高效、更无污染的燃烧，因为在活塞和涡轮发动机中，火焰传播本质上很难控制。它还可以很容易地适应制度的变化，这是汽车应用中的一种常见情况。

Catalytically stabilized combustion is a promising way to extract energy in well controlled, uniform conditions. Such improvements will be documented in the laboratory, with extensive measurements and computational techniques. Laser induced fluorescence will be the principal form of diagnostics whereas supercomputers will allow for an accurate account of chemical kinetics. Unsteady conditions and soot formation will be investigated also. Catalysis will allow for much more efficient and pollution-free combustion than is currently possible in piston and turbine engines, where flame propagation is intrinsically hard to control. It will also adjust easily to changes of regime, a frequent situation in automotive applications.