In this 13-part series of articles, The Combustion Institute recognizes the 2021 Distinguished Papers selected from among the scientific papers presented during the 38th International Symposium on Combustion. Congratulations to Thibault F. Guiberti, Yedhu Krishna, Wesley R. Boyette, Chaobo Yang, William L. Roberts, and Gaetano Magnotti for winning the DPA in the Diagnostics colloquium.
In their authoritative paper, Single-shot imaging of major species and OH mole fractions and temperature in non-premixed H2/N2 flames at elevated pressure, Guiberti, Krishna, Boyette, Yang, Roberts, and Magnotti introduce a new 2-D quantitative imaging technique to enable more accurate quantifications of combustion scalars. Motivated by the immediate need to abate CO2 emissions in the atmosphere, the research team was concerned by the lack of data recorded in turbulent flames in relevant conditions; specifically, in high-pressure conditions, and those involving carbon-free fuels. In order to gather such data, they developed a new, nonintrusive and precise diagnostic. This new technique allows scientists to simultaneously measure quantities such as temperature and major species in 2-D. Furthermore, their 2-D method, when coupled with planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF), enables the accurate quantification of combustion radicals.
In addition to providing insights into turbulence-chemistry interactions, this paper promotes the design of turbulent combustion models, which in turn, will influence the design of practical combustion devices that use carbon-free fuels. The imaging diagnostic is replicated, and its 2-D nature facilitates the collection of large amounts of data in short periods of time. The efficiency of this method is particularly useful for high-pressure/high-power flames that are difficult to study for long periods of time in the lab.
The idea for this project was originally formulated in 2018, and the first demonstration of the technique was early in 2019 at KAUST’s Clean Combustion Research Center (CCRC) in Saudi Arabia. The success of this research was possible with the use of a high-pressure combustion duct (HPCD), one of CCRC’s flagship rigs, which was commissioned in 2016, and took three years to develop.
Over 1,700 papers were submitted to the 38th International Symposium on Combustion. All papers were categorized into one of 13 colloquia, and then distributed to colloquium coordinators and co-chairs. Each paper was reviewed by at least three qualified individuals from a pool of over 1,000 peer scientific reviewers. Less than 50 percent of the papers submitted are accepted for presentation.
Following the symposium, one paper presented in each colloquium is awarded the distinction of Distinguished Paper. Visit here to view the presentation. The 13 Distinguished Papers undergo committee review for consideration for the Silver Combustion Medal. A paper selected for this honor exemplifies quality, achievement, and significance to advance a field of combustion science, and will be awarded during the 39th International Symposium in Vancouver, Canada.