• Dr. Li Qiao
  • Purdue University
  • 104D Surge Building
  • 4:00 p.m.
  • Faculty Host: Dr. Lin Ma

Nanofluid fuels are liquid fuels with a stable suspension of nanometer-sized particles (e.g., energetic nanomaterials and nanocatalysts). Depending on the physical and chemical properties of the added nanomaterials, nanofluid fuels can achieve better performance, such as increased energy density, faster burning rate, easier and faster ignition, and enhanced catalytic effects. They can potentially be used for future hypersonic propulsion systems, which largely depend on the ability to use liquid fuels of high energy density, short ignition delay, and high reaction rate. Nanofluid fuels may also be used for power/thrust generation under special circumstances. For example, they can provide higher power or thrust for a longer time for compact systems where the volume of carried fuel is limited, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or a power MEMS. Furthermore, the nanofluid fuels containing various nanostructured ignition agents may allow for the distributed ignition of fuels using light sources, which could greatly improve combustion efficiencies, as opposed to conventional single-point ignition. Lastly, nanofluid fuels exhibit significantly enhanced mass and heat transport properties resulting from the random Brownian motion and the thermal radiation properties of nanoparticles, which could aid in combustion. This seminar will present our recent results on the research of tailored high-performance fuels using nanoscale energetic materials as additives. The effects of several parameters on fuel’s colloidal stability and combustion performance will be discussed, including particle material, loading rate, particle size, as well as the type of base fluid and the use of a surfactant. These understanding will provide important guidelines for the optimized use of nanomaterials in terms of material, surface functionalization, particle size, and concentration in liquid fuels to achieve the desired performance.