Mission

While the combustion of fossil fuels provides the vast majority of the world's energy requirements, it is also the principal source of the world's air pollution. This reality, coupled with the limited reserves of fossil fuels, requires that new technologies be developed to assure that the available fossil fuels of the earth are utilized in an efficient and environmentally acceptable manner.

The UCI Combustion Laboratory (UCICL) is addressing the challenges associated with the combustion of fossil fuels by developing advanced laser diagnostic and numerical tools, and applying these tools to problems of practical relevance. These tools are necessary to unravel the mysteries of combustion that heretofore have eluded understanding. A fundamental understanding of the interaction between turbulent mixing and chemical reaction is required if practical combustion systems are to be improved beyond the current state of the art.

Research. The UCICL is engaged in both basic and applied research studies in combustion and propulsion. Emphasis is placed on continuous combustion systems (versus intermittent combustion systems such as the reciprocating engines) such as commercial, industrial, and utility boilers and furnaces, and gas turbine engines. In addition to developing, combining, and applying the tools necessary to address the complex problems associated with practical combustion and propulsion systems, the UCICL is advancing a dialog with industry and national laboratories to bridge basic and applied engineering science to practical problems, and to effectively transfer technology into practical application.

This basic and applied research is directed to continuous combustion devices such as gas-injected and liquid-injected gas turbine combustors, boilers, furnaces, and incinerators. The thrust of the research is to use and apply conventional diagnostics, laser diagnostics, and state-of-the-art numerical modeling to develop an understanding of the processes of fuel injection, fuel/air mixing, reactant and product transport, and the formation of soot and gaseous pollutants. A variety of pure hydrocarbon and practical multicomponent fuels are researched.
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Faculty. Under the direction of Dr. G.S. Samuelsen, the UCICL is supported by technical staff, graduate and undergraduate students, and collaborating faculty and researchers. Faculty (Dr. J.C. LaRue, Dr. D. Dunn Rankin, Dr. E. J. Lavernia) collaborate on specific research projects associated with turbulent transport, laser spectroscopy, and high temperature materials.
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Sponsors. Programs are supported at the federal, state, and regional level. In addition, a number of the programs are teaming initiatives with industry. The blend provides the UCICL with a wide perspective on the issues and strategies relative to combustion science.

Facilities. The UCICL is housed in research facilities that include five high-bay test cells, a gas turbine cell, and support laboratories. One of the test cells is designed specifically for high pressure experiments. The facility has an independent air factory capable of pressures to 1000 psig, flow rates to 5lb/s to 4lb/s, and air preheat to 1200°F. The test facilities include model and practical burners and gas turbine combustors, a variety of spray test stands, and a variable geometry reactor for the study of turbulent transport in jet and recirculating flows. Diagnostics include both conventional diagnostics (e.g., extractive probes, thermocouple probes, emission consoles), and laser diagnostics (e.g., laser anemometry, laser diffraction, sheet lighting, Rayleigh scattering, intensity ratioing, coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy, degenerate four-wave mixing, phase Doppler interferometry, laser-induced fluorescence, and planar liquid laser-induced fluorescence).
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