Critical requirements in combustion research

Abstract

This document summarizes a study to survey the state-of-the-art in combustion research and to discuss combustion-related research needs. In order to complete these tasks, information was obtained from three sources: (1) published, combustion-related review articles, (2) program plans from agencies sponsoring combustion-related research, and (3) a survey of experienced combustion researchers. In order to synthesize results from these sources, combustion research activities were divided into applied areas (coal gasification, explosions, fires, power generation, reciprocating engines, virginal and residual solid fossil fuels, solid propellants and turbine engines) and fundamental areas (chemistry of combustible materials, combustor modeling, detonations and explosions, diagnostics/instrumentation, droplet kinetics, flame ignition, stability and propagation, gas phase kinetics, particle/droplet dynamics, pollutant formation, radiative heat transfer, soot formation/reduction and turbulence/fluid mechanics). Approximately 160 combustion-related review articles published in the past five years were located which provide access to over 16,000 references in the combustion literature. At least three articles from each applied and each fundamental area were reviewed, and the most frequently identified key research needs in these articles were summarized. Combustion research program plans were sought from twenty-three agencies and received from twelve agencies. Research plans were then categorized according to relevant applied and fundamental combustion areas. A survey instrument with the above applied and fundamental categories was developed, and sent to fifty-five prominent combustion researchers. Survey responses were received from forty-three researchers. The survey provided opportunity for respondents to identify principal combustion research needs. Based on these three sources of information, the key combustion research needs identified in the applied areas were: clean and efficient combustion of low-grade liquid and solid fuels, and reduction of pollutants through combustion control. The key combustion research needs identified in the fundamental areas were: interactions of turbulence and kinetics, non-intrusive combustion diagnostics, computer model development, gas-phase kinetics, droplet/particle cloud combustion, soot formation and chemistry, flame structure and solid phase kinetics. Additional detail and discussion of these research needs are given in the text. The senior author further identified significant research needs in droplet/particle dynamics, explosions and chemistry of combustible materials. At the request of the senior author, this document was also independently reviewed by two prominent combustion researchers and their comments are included in this document.