Flame Studies of Alternative Fuels for Power Generation, Transport and Industrial Safety Applications Seminar

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Seminar

Friday, Nov. 30, 2:15-3:10 p.m., Watson Theatre, Watson Hall

by Jeffrey Bergthorson, associate professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal

The Alternative Fuels Laboratory at McGill University uses state-of-the-art laser diagnostic and spectroscopy experimental
techniques, combined with modelling and simulation, to improve our fundamental understanding of the combustion properties of a range of alternative fuels. An overview of this work will be presented, including the flame properties of biojet and jet fuels, the formation of nitric oxide pollutants in alternative gaseous and liquid fuels for automotive and power generation applications, and the combustion of metal powders for advanced energy-carrier concepts and industrial
safety applications. The talk will then focus on interesting new insight into the behaviour of flames in hybrid gas-solid fuel mixtures, which can arise in piloted metal-fuel flames for advanced energy-carrier concepts as well as in industrial accidents in the process industries.

Bergthorson received his B.Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of Manitoba, and M.Sc. and Ph.D. in aeronautics at the California Institute of Technology in the Graduate Aeronautical Laboratories. He is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at McGill University, where he leads the Alternative Fuels aboratory. Bergthorson’s research interests are in the broad area of the combustion and reformation of alternative
and sustainable fuels. His research contributions include the validation of combustion models against detailed laser diagnostic measurements in premixed flames, demonstrating important structure-reactivity trends for the high-temperature ignition of biofuels, improved models for flames stabilized in novel heat-recirculating combustors, and new insights into the propagation mechanisms of mixtures of gaseous and metal-particle fuels. His current research focuses on developing improved combustion and emissions models for gaseous and liquid biofuels through experimental and modeling studies, investigation of combustion in small channels for the design of advanced burners, heterogeneous flames of metal-particle and gaseous fuels, and plasma-assisted combustion for low-NOx gas turbine engines.

Contact Person: Kathy Datthyn-Madigan
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
315-443-4367
kjdatthy@syr.edu