Dr. Xiucheng Zhu is supervised by Dr. Seong-Yong Lee, the Associate Professor in Department of Mechanical –Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University. Dr. Lee is an experimentalist interested in studying turbulent and spray combustion, including high-pressure diesel and gasoline spray and fundamental turbulent flames. Dr. Lee’s research interests are in the area of energy-thermal-fluid sciences, bio/alternative spray fuel combustion, surrogate fuel chemistry, advanced laser diagnostics, combustion dynamics of instabilities and stabilization, and non-equilibrium plasma-assisted combustion as alternative power conversion. Dr. Lee’s research emphasizes combustion experiment based on applications in energy, environment, and aerospace.
Fuel lean and exhaust gas dilution are known to increase the thermal efficiency and reduce the NOx emissions. In this study, experiments are performed to understand the effect of equivalence ratio on flame kernel formation and flame propagation around the spark plug for different low turbulent velocities. A series of experiments are carried out for propane-air mixtures to simulate engine-like conditions. For these experiments, the equivalence ratio of 0.7 is tested with 20 percent mass-based exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Turbulence is generated by a shrouded fan design in the vicinity of J-spark plug. A closed loop feedback control system is used for the fan to generate a consistent flow field. The flow profile is characterized by using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. High-speed schlieren visualization is used for the spark formation and flame propagation.
