Start of funding 01.07.2008

Development of time-resolved nonlinear Raman spectroscopy

Prof. Dr. Thomas Seeger
Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
Lehrstuhl für Technische Thermodynamik

Dr. Tom Settersten
University of California, Livermore
Sandia Natinal Labs, Combust. Research F.



Combustion processes that occur for instance in automobile engines or gas turbines strongly influence our daily life and, of course, our living environment. Ever-increasing fuel costs and the necessary decrease of the pollutant emissions require a further development and improvement of these devices. To reduce the pollutant emissions (e.g. soot, NOx, UHC) and to increase the efficiency of combustion devices, the complex processes of turbulence, chemistry and heat and mass transfer, and the interactions between them, need to be understood in detail, and accurate diagnostics are a helpful tool for this purpose.

In the proposed cooperation between the Sandia National Labs and the LTT in Erlangen, novel laser-based diagnostic tools will be developed for the investigation of flames and combustion related processes. The starting point, which will be done within the BaCaTec supported period, will be the development of time-resolved pure rotational CARS. In contrast to conventional CARS in the nanosecond time regime, this new technique based on ultra-short ps-pulse lasers will enable precise temperature and multiple-species concentration measurements particularly in partially premixed or fuel rich flames where other methods are hardly applicable.