This award supports Ronald Hanson and students from Stanford University in a collaboration with Juergen Wolfrum of the Department Physical Chemistry at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. The research funded by this award will focus on developing laser-based diagnostic measurements during high-pressure combustion. One area to be addressed is the need for quantitative laser-induced fluorescence measurements of nitric oxide at high pressures where pressure broadening of the spectral lines produces interference from whatever molecular oxygen is present. This problem will make use of the German group's expertise in high-pressure burners and a new experimental facility at Stanford. A second problem to be worked on is the characterization of molecular fuel tracers for fuel/air mixing to systems under high pressure. Each research group will use molecular tracers with different chemical structures, and the collaboration will allow direct comparison or the two different approaches. The opportunity this joint, collaborative research effort presents junior researchers is substantial, and the work done on this proposal will help institutionalize the relationship between the German and U.S. research groups.
