Note to Editors: The opening of Sandia National Laboratories' Combustion Research Facility, Phase II, and a symposium, "Shaping the Future: The Role of Research in Addressing Critical National Problems," takes place in Livermore on Nov. 18. For information or to attend, call media representative Nancy Garcia at (925) 294-2932.
Sandia's Combustion Research Facility adds new unique capabilities
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- A laboratory dedicated to detailed scientific observation of how alternative fuels, including plant-based biofuels, operate in a working engine is among the new capabilities being unveiled this month at an event celebrating expansion of the Combustion Research Facility, part of the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories.
Research in this new engine laboratory may contribute to reducing petroleum imports and improving the environment. Researchers will study relatively clean-burning fuels in a heavy-duty diesel engine, making observations through sturdy, clear quartz engine windows. Heavy-duty diesel-cycle engines are typically 30 - 60 percent more efficient than comparable-horsepower engines that use spark ignition.
"Right now," says alternative fuel researcher Chuck Mueller of the Combustion Research Facility, "relatively little is known about why some fuels produce less pollution than others. Understanding how fuel properties affect emissions is an essential step toward production of cleaner, more efficient engines for the next century."
Alternative fuels can potentially reduce emissions associated with standard diesel fuel. Alternative fuels include "biodiesel," which can be derived from renewable sources such as vegetable oils and beef tallow; Fischer-Tropsch, which is synthesized from natural gas; and alcohols, gasolines, heavy ethers and other liquid fuels and blends.
Like this engine research, laboratories at the Combustion Research Facility are dedicated to enhancing our scientific understanding of combustion, an age-old tool that supplies about 90 percent of the energy used in the United States today, but is still little understood.
Researchers began elucidating the dynamic chemical and fluid mechanical processes of combustion at Sandia when the facility opened nearly 20 years ago. Lab space for new unique capabilities at the Combustion Research Facility was recently added to facilitate inquiry into promising new directions. The 16 new laboratories will be celebrated in a symposium and tour Nov. 18. Experts from government, industry and academia will present a half-day of talks, and guests will be welcome to tour the newly equipped labs.
That morning, Martha Krebs, director of the DOE's Office of Science, will chair a session entitled, "Shaping the Future: The Role of Research in Addressing Critical National Problems." The speakers include: Stanford University chemistry Prof. Richard Zare; John McTague, former chief technology officer of Ford Motor Co.; Henry McDonald, director of NASA Ames Research Center; and Harvard University chemistry Prof. George Whitesides.
The afternoon will feature tours of the new labs. Combustion experts were included in planning uses for the new labs, since the facility is designated by the DOE for use by outside collaborators. Activities span both basic and applied research.
Development of laser-based diagnostic tools has been a key contribution of Sandia combustion researchers over the years. The new wing houses a rare capability, a Sandia-designed picosecond laser for diagnosing molecular energy transfer. In a new low-pressure flame lab, researchers will be able to apply multiple diagnostic approaches on one flame.
In addition to new diagnostics, advanced imaging capabilities in the newly equipped lab wing include lasers offering 3-D imaging with good time resolution. Collaborators are waiting for completion of an area in the expanded facility that will provide advanced tools for the study of turbulent diffusion flames. Also underway are plans for a pilot-scale furnace that can produce up to seven tons of glass every day, to allow experimentation with alternative burner and furnace configurations -- research that could not be carried out in an operational glass plant.
"All these capabilities should further enhance the pace of combustion research and strengthen our alliances with research partners from academia and industry," said Bill McLean, director of the Combustion & Physical Sciences Center, which includes the Combustion Research Facility.
The $26.8 million project was launched in 1996 when Congress approved outfitting a 32,300 sf wing whose exterior had been constructed in prior years. The project also includes additional office space with construction of a new, adjoining office wing. The addition of 16 labs brings the total number of labs in the facility to 36.
Sandia is a multiprogram DOE laboratory, operated by a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major research and development responsibilities in national security, energy, and environmental technologies.
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Media contact:
Nancy Garcia
(925) 294-2932 [email protected]
Technical contact:
Bob Gallagher
(925) 294-3117
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