• Dr. Elisa Toulson
  • Michigan State University
  • 104D Surge Building
  • 4:00 p.m.
  • Faculty Host: Dr. Lin Ma

Enhanced ignition technologies such as turbulent jet ignition can improve fuel consumption, reduce emissions, and improve combustion stability in internal combustion engines. Additionally, these technologies may also enable renewable fuels and fuel blends to be integrated with existing technologies, facilitating their introduction into the marketplace. Chemical kinetics modeling is another important area of study in renewable fuels combustion research. Alternative fuels such as biodiesel are presently receiving attention as potential substitutes for fossil fuels, as they can be renewable, carbon neutral and provide energy security. However, biodiesel oxidation chemistry is complicated to directly model and existing surrogate kinetic models are very large, making them computationally expensive. Reduced or skeletal chemical kinetic models of biofuels are one way forward in enabling CFD simulation of renewable fuel combustion. This type of modeling in conjunction with experimental research allows for an improved understanding of the combustion of new renewable fuels.