Media Releases 2010
Award-winning research a step towards engine efficiency
February 8, 2010
UNSW@ADFA graduate Lena Huynh was awarded the Best Paper Award at the Australasian Branch of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Australian-Asia Regional Student Conference in Melbourne.
In addition to a cash prize of USD500, OffCdt Huynh won the opportunity to present her paper, “Water Vapour Absorption Spectroscopy in a Simulated Helicopter Exhaust, using Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers”, at the 48th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Orlando, Florida in January. This is the world’s largest and most prestigious aerospace conference.
Lena graduated from UNSW@ADFA at the end of last year after completing a degree in Engineering (Aerospace). As part of the degree, she conducted a research project in her final year, under the supervision of Dr Sean O'Byrne.
The aim of Lena’s research project was to measure the water vapour concentration and temperature in the exhaust of Defence Science and Technology Organisation's Infrared Suppression Facility, using a technique called laser spectroscopy. Lena designed a sensor that was rugged enough to make measurements at temperatures of up to 600 degrees Celcius. The same technique is also being implemented by UNSW@ADFA PhD Student Sven Wittig to make air speed and temperature measurements in the intakes of the next generation of high-speed experimental engines.
“The sensor measures gas temperatures and concentrations using the same sorts of diodes found in computer mice,” said Dr O’Byrne. “One big advantage is that because we measure the absorption of light, the sensor does not interfere with the flow at all.”
As well as making measurements in jet engines, the same technology can be used wherever monitoring combustion emissions is necessary. “We measured water vapour in Lena’s measurements, but we can also measure CO² or CO in power stations, and are currently working on sensors for vehicle exhausts, to make engines operate more efficiently,” Dr O’Byrne states. “Right now, if you want to know what’s coming out of a car exhaust, you need to run a pipe from the exhaust to a large and expensive analysis rig. This technology is smaller, faster, and potentially inexpensive enough to be part of an engine management system.”
Lena also presented a paper with Dr O'Byrne on the experimental work at the Australian Combustion Symposium in Brisbane last December, and won the Beaufort Bomber Prize for Best Final-Year Aerospace Thesis Award at UNSW@ADFA in 2009.
Lena Huynh currently lives in Canberra and works for the Australian Defence Force Infrastructure Asset Development Branch.
For more information, please contact UNSW@ADFA PR Manager, Rebecca Lane publicrelations@adfa.edu.au, +61 (02) 6268 8760