MRI: Acquistion of Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence/Raman Imaging System

用这笔赠款购买的设备将提供一套激光燃烧诊断技术的能力，包括示踪平面激光诱导荧光(PLIF)、羟基自由基(OH)LIF/PLIF、化学发光、拉曼和罗利散射、激基荧光和Mie散射技术。这些诊断方法将用于一系列与内燃机(IC)发动机燃烧过程相关的项目。此外，该设备将使联合学院新的内燃机实验室的教学能力实现重大飞跃，并将通过将其纳入教学实验室和演示，极大地加强机械工程课程的热/流体科学。这些设备将通过为本科生提供从事现代内燃机和燃烧研究的重要新机会，帮助吸引、教授和留住工程专业学生，包括那些来自传统上代表性较低的群体的学生。最后，这种设备将促进跨学科合作。例如，拉曼光谱能力将加强化学系正在进行的关于聚苯胺氧化状态的研究，以开发用于未来化学传感和导电复合材料应用的导电纳米复合材料。关于内燃机和燃烧研究，初步项目将开发一种基于激光诱导荧光技术的燃料膜厚度定量测量技术，用于固体表面的燃料(烃)膜。燃料膜在许多液体燃料燃烧装置的性能中起着至关重要的作用，但目前很难对其进行现场研究。提高对这类薄膜行为的了解是减少许多重要燃烧系统(如现代汽车发动机)有害排放的必要的第一步。该项目的成果将是一种能够在现场对碳氢燃料膜厚度进行空间、时间和化学成分分辨测量的技术，并且只需要光学进入燃料膜暴露的(顶部)表面。一个相关的氢燃料项目将开发基于激光的可视化技术，以研究氢燃料在内燃机中的混合和燃烧。近年来，氢气作为一种燃料受到越来越多的关注，氢气内燃机是利用这种燃料用于交通运输的一种可行的技术。然而，用于现代内燃机研究和开发的激光诊断/光学发动机工具不适用于氢燃料系统。将探索几种补充技术，试图通过PLIF测量为碳氢燃料内燃机研究提供氢气内燃机的诊断功能。

The equipment purchased with this grant will provide capabilities for a suite of laser combustion diagnostic techniques, including tracer Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF), hydroxyl radical (OH) LIF/PLIF, chemiluminescence, Raman and Raleigh scattering, exciplex fluorescence, and Mie scattering techniques. These diagnostic methods will be used in a series of projects related to combustion processes occurring in internal combustion (IC) engines. Additionally, the equipment will enable a significant leap in the pedagogical capabilities of Union College's new IC engine lab, and will greatly strengthen the thermal/fluid sciences stem of the mechanical engineering curriculum through its inclusion in teaching labs and demos. The equipment will help attract, teach, and retain engineering students, including those from traditionally underrepresented groups, by providing significant new opportunities for undergraduate students to become engaged in modern IC engine and combustion research. Lastly, this equipment will foster cross-disciplinary collaboration. For example, the Raman spectroscopy capabilities will enhance ongoing research in the chemistry department on the oxidation states of polyaniline in the development of conductive nanocomposite materials for future chemical sensing and conductive composite applications.With regard to IC engine and combustion research, the initial project will develop a quantitative LIF based fuel film thickness measurement technique for use with fuel (hydrocarbon) films on solid surfaces. Fuel films play a critical role in the performance of many liquid fueled combustion devices, yet they are currently very difficult to study in situ. Improved understanding of the behavior of these types of films is a necessary first step for reducing harmful emissions from many important combustion systems (such as modern automobile engines). The outcome of this project will be a technique capable of making spatially, temporally, and chemical component resolved measurements of hydrocarbon fuel film thicknesses in situ, and which requires optical access to only the exposed (top) surface of the fuel film. A related hydrogen fuels project will develop laser based visualization techniques to study the mixing and combustion of hydrogen fuels in IC engines. Recently, hydrogen has been receiving increasing attention as a fuel, and the hydrogen IC engine represents a viable technology for harnessing this fuel for transportation applications. However, laser diagnostic / optical engine tools of the type used in modern IC engine research and development are not available for hydrogen-fueled systems. Several complementary techniques will be explored in an attempt to provide the diagnostic functionality for hydrogen IC engines that is available via PLIF measurements for hydrocarbon fueled IC engine research.