High-altitude supersonic ignition

One of the most important barriers to realising high-speed flight involves making fuel and air mix and ignite at a rate that is fast enough to ensure complete combustion before the mixture exits the engine. This problem becomes even more challenging at high flight altitudes where it is more difficult to ensure efficient turbulent mixing. In this experimental project you would use our hypersonic shock tunnel facility, T-ADFA, to investigate fundamental ignition phenomena in engines. In addition to spontaneous ignition at high temperature, you would investigate various ignition and mixing enhancement methods to determine how much of an improvement in mixing and ignition can be obtained at different flight altitudes and speeds. The experiments would use advanced laser-based diagnostics to investigate the species generated in the combustor, indicating the completeness of the combustion.

This scholarship is supported by DST group and is available only to Australian citizens. All candidates with H2A or better qualifications in engineering, physics or physical chemistry can apply for a UNSW scholarship.

Contact:

Associate Professor Sean O'Byrne s.obyrne@adfa.edu.au

Professor Andrew Neely a.neely@adfa.edu.au

Supervisor