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

这项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。纳米流体燃料是一类令人兴奋的新型纳米技术燃料，是一种具有稳定悬浮纳米颗粒的液体燃料。根据添加的纳米材料的物理、化学和电学性质，纳米流体燃料可以实现更好的性能，例如，增加能量密度、更容易和更快地点火、增强催化效果、改善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。我们的研究建议开始发展对纳米流体类型燃料的基本理解。这项工作将有助于解释在液体燃料中添加纳米材料如何提高燃烧性能的基本机制。研究目标包括了解(1)纳米流体燃料的界面性质和胶体稳定性；(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)各种纳米材料对小液滴在高温和压力下燃烧特性的影响。智力价值：该提议的新颖性和强度有三个方面：(1)纳米流体型燃料是一种新的燃料类别，燃烧学界很少研究。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)这项建议的性质是跨学科的。它位于纳米技术、胶体科学、质量和热量传输以及燃烧科学的交叉点上。因此，这项提议有可能同时扩大我们在几个科学前沿的知识基础。(3)这项拟议的工作具有变革性，因为它将首次对各种纳米材料的添加如何影响液体燃料的蒸发和燃烧过程提供定量的了解。这一认识将为纳米材料在材料、表面功能化、颗粒尺寸和液体燃料中的浓度方面的优化使用提供重要的指导方针，以达到预期的性能。广泛的影响：这项研究的社会效益在于燃油经济性、污染控制以及航空航天应用领域。在航空航天工程中，人们对开发新一代高超声速飞行越来越感兴趣，这在很大程度上取决于使用液体燃料的能力，这些燃料提供高能量密度、短点火延迟和高反应速率。添加纳米能量或纳米催化剂的纳米流体型燃料有可能解决这一问题。在特殊情况下，纳米流体燃料也可用于发电/推力。它们可以为燃料体积有限的紧凑型系统提供更大的功率或更长时间的推力，例如无人机(UAV)或电力微电子机械系统(MEMS)。它们还可以为极端条件下的设备提供可靠和轻松的燃料点火，例如极端稀薄的燃烧条件或非常低的温度。此外，含有各种纳米结构点火剂的纳米流体燃料可以实现燃料的分布式点火，这可以大大提高燃烧效率。汽车行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，这表明可以提高燃烧效率，同时减少特定和NOx的排放。新型定制燃料可能大幅提高燃料效率，减少污染物排放，这可以降低燃料消耗，改善公众健康，减少我们对外国石油的依赖。最后，国际学生联合会将与路易斯·斯托克斯少数族裔参与联盟(LSAMP)计划合作，招募少数族裔学生参与研究。

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.