Project List
The following lists projects that are either active or have been completed successfully. These are listed to provide a sense of the range of research areas and interests.
Shock Wave Rotor Research
Wave rotors are unique devices that create shock waves along straight or cambered channels arranged around a rotating drum. By arranging a set of ports that expose the channel to incoming pressurized gases, an exchange of energy can be achieved. This can be used to compress and expand gases or achieve localized high temperatures to initiate chemical reactions. Our research to date focuses on wave rotors for Brayton cycles and chemical reactors.
Inverted Brayton Cycle for Waste Heat Recovery and CHP
The inverted Brayton cycle is a unique thermodynamic cycle that, unlike a more traditional gas-turbine cycle, expands before compression and features heat rejection between these phases. We have explored this cycle as a way to recover waste exhaust heat for a range of applications with two patents in the process. It also holds promise as a micro-CHP plant due to its ability to receive a low-pressure fuel supply.
Radial Turbomachinery Optimization
Radial compressors and turbines are used in a wide variety of applications from fuel cell compressors to turbochargers. Although a mature technology, recent advances in the accessibility of high-performance computing and mathematical optimization have led to new research to fully optimize turbomachinery design for each application. Our research has led to a flexible approach of designing bespoke optimization and learning algorithms to develop better radial compressors and turbines.
Metal Additive Manufacturing for Aero-thermal Performance
Metal additive manufacturing describes a broad range of manufacturing techniques that have instigated a revolution in the way we design and manufacture components for the energy industry. Our group is using the design freedom of this new manufacturing approach to create components with enhancements that are able to control heat and fluid flow through the part in an optimized way. Our research in this area encompasses cooled turbomachinery, heat exchangers, combustors and catalytic reactors.
Sustainable Combustion
Decarbonizing heating and future air transport will require the combustion of more sustainable fuels including hydrogen. Our research considers the use of future manufacturing approaches and design optimization to enable future sustainable combustion strategies with low carbon emissions. Approaches from the more conventional swirl stabilized can combustor to the more innovative catalytic combustor are the subject of ongoing research.