Abstract

A key thrust within the ongoing effort to decarbonize power generation and propulsion is to replace conventional hydrocarbon fuels with renewable biofuels in existing engines in a drop-in or blended fashion to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. Given the large number of biomass-derived fuel molecules, screening techniques are required to down-select candidate fuels having desirable physical properties to ensure good engine performance. This work investigates approaches for rapid screening of candidate fuels using relatively small sample sizes (O(µl)) targeting four key physical properties of liquid fuels relevant to spray atomization, evaporation, and mixing – surface tension, viscosity, heat of vaporization, and vapor pressure. Experimental techniques studying transient droplet oscillation phenomena are aided by complementary numerical simulations. Results show the feasibility of droplet-based approaches to develop screening tools using micro-liter quantities, while ensuring high-throughput.

Speaker’s bio: Dr. Shyam Menon is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Louisiana State University (LSU). He received his MS and PhD degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park. His laboratory primarily conducts experimental research on multiphase flows with application to power generation and propulsion. His research has been supported by grants from various agencies (NSF, DOE , AFOSR, ONR , NASA) and industry and he is a recipient of the NSF CAREER award (2022) and the Worley Professor of Excellence award. He is currently on sabbatical visit at Cambridge working with Prof. Swaminathan on multiphase flow simulations.