Propulsion & Energy Conversion Laboratory

Propulsion & Energy Conversion Laboratory

Welcome to the Propulsion and Energy Conversion Lab. Here lasers probe reactions, computers compose turbulence, and minds engage to push the boundaries of aerospace propulsion.

The primary research emphasis of the Propulsion and Energy Conversion Lab lies in turbulent reacting and multiphase flows. Our ultimate goal is to reduce the environmental impact of aircraft engines and land-based power plants, specifically their climate footprint. Some of the ongoing projects are 1) understanding and predicting how fast hydrogen-air premixed flames propagate in turbulence, 2) developing a fuel-flex combustor that can be powered by either hydrogen or natural gas, 3) developing a carbon free combustor, 4) understanding the effect of fuel and soot characteristics on contrail formation, and 5) understanding aerosol dispersion in turbulence and airborne disease dynamics.

We greatly enjoy investigating fundamental aspects of the complex interactions between turbulence, chemical kinetics, and/or thermodynamics to discover new phenomena and improve fundamental understanding that can help us engineer such complex flows towards higher performance, reduced/zero emission aircraft engines.

While our primary expertise is experimental propulsion research using laser-based diagnostics, in principle, our research philosophy tries to eliminate borders of engineering and science in approach or publication venues or in between experiments, theory, and computations. Based on this philosophy, recently, we have also worked on aerosol and droplet dispersion involved in disease transmission. As such, we settle to work on a new or unresolved scientific problem of high technological/societal impact and adapt to the tool that is best suited to tackle it irrespective of it being a sophisticated laser-based diagnostic, Direct Numerical Simulation or analysis without compromising on rigor and depth.