04/06/2023
By Cinamon Blair

UMass Lowell Department of Mechanical Engineering Seminar Series
On the Role of Experimental Kinetics in the Development of Sustainable Propellants

When: Friday, April 7, 1-2 p.m.
Where: Dandeneau 220

Rachel A Schwind, Senior Research Associate, School of Engineering, Brown University
Aerospace and aviation are frequently cited as hard to decarbonize sectors due to their reliance on combustion for propulsion, with sustainable fuels and technology development having been identified as a 2050 Grand Challenge target by the Department of Energy. A thorough understanding of the interplay between the chemical and physical drivers of combustion in the harsh operating environments of these applications is vital to developing new technologies, as well as low-carbon fuels or propellants that can leverage existing technology. In this talk, I outline how leveraging thermophysical system responses allows us to unlock drivers for reactivity and stability of key aerospace and advanced energy systems. Utilizing a unique liquid strand burner, I am able to interrogate both the chemical and physical processes that are relevant for ignition and flame propagation at high pressures and transcritical conditions, as applicable to many propulsion systems. I will outline how physical responses in the system to changes in the initial thermodynamic state provide valuable kinetic information and starting points for investigating the complex phase interactions in these systems. From the results of these complex flame environment studies or field observations, key components are then chosen for isolated study in fundamental shock tube experiments. These experiments allow for the purely gas-phase reaction kinetics to be decoupled from the complex phase change and fluid mechanics in the flame environment.