Currently, the harsh and restrictive reactive environments within high-speed propulsion systems, such as scramjets, can be limiting factors for their development and practical implementation. Typically, these limitations lie in the ability to ignite, propagate, and stabilize a flame near flammability limits, at low temperatures and pressures, and within short residence times, therefore necessitating some form of energy addition. There is a need to better understand the fundamental phenomena involved in enhancement with different forms of energy addition, such as (1) efficient energy coupling into a high-speed and highly-turbulent reactive flow, (2) in situ production of elevated temperatures and active species, and (3) the effect of specific plasma-produced species. A range of systems is available to address these problems, from simple bench-top devices (including a variable pressure combustion platform) to wind tunnels (including direct-connect scramjet facilities). A host of optical and laser diagnostic assets are available to study these phenomena, including (but not limited to) planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF), particle image velocimetry (PIV), and high-frame-rate imaging (>100,000 frames per second).

 

key words

Supersonic combustion; Scramjets; High-speed flows; Plasma; Plasma-assisted combustion; Advanced optical diagnostics; Reactive flow energy coupling;

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral and Senior applicants