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Development of next-generation fuel delivery devices for thermal energy conversion

Summary

This project will apply state of the art experimental diagnostic and computational methods to analyse the potential of using electrostatic charge as a means to delivery fuels in micro-devices. The project will focus on improving our fundamental understanding of “electro-hydrodynamic” flows whilst in parallel developing an experimental system to deliver electrically charged fuel for clean combustion applications.

Supervisor

Dr Agisilaos Kourmatzis.

Research location

Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering

Program type

PHD

Synopsis

Electrostatic fuel injection has a number of potential applications when it comes to combustion of liquids such as renewable fuels. With only 2mW of power these atomizers can provide well atomized sprays with droplets of the order of 1/10 of the orifice diameter. This technology if made robust, has the potential to drastically improve the efficiency of micro to meso-scale combustion engines running on liquid fuels. Ultimately, this can lead to robust and feasible liquid-fueled batteries and/or propulsion systems. This ongoing work, using a combination of numerical and experimental methods, aims to improve our understanding of how electrostatic fuel injection works both at a fundamental and applied level.

Additional information

This project is open to both domestic and international PhD students.  International students who do not have funding from their home country will be required to apply for a living allowance and tuition fee scholarships such as IPRS. Such scholarships are very competitive and a successful applicant would normally be within the top 5% of their graduating class. Correspondence with the supervisor should give evidence of these credentials.

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Opportunity ID

The opportunity ID for this research opportunity is 2283

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