Opportunity at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Burning Velocity Measurement and Predictive Methods for Marginally Flammable Refrigerants

Location

Engineering Laboratory, Energy and Environment Division

RO# Location
50.73.21.B8271 Gaithersburg, MD

Please note: This Agency only participates in the February and August reviews.

Advisers
name email phone
Linteris, Gregory Thomas linteris@nist.gov 301.975.2283
Description

Hydrofluorocarbon refigerants are large contributors to global warming. They can be eliminated, but their replacements tend to be mildly flammable and there are not good codes and standards for their safe use. In order to rank the flammability and risk of the new compounds (and their blends), burning velocity is being used; however, measurement of the burning velocity is challenging because the compounds of most interest have unstretched laminar burning velocities in the range of 1 cm/s to 8 cm/s (i.e., near the flammability limit). Under these conditions, the measurements (and numerical predictions) are strongly affected by stretch, buoyancy, and radiation heat losses. This project consists of experiments and numerical modeling of these flames to understand their fundamental properties, facilitating the development of accurate standard tests and predictive methods, and their safe use at full-scale.

Keywords:

Laminar burning velocity; Refrigerant flammability; Numerical flame simulations; Combustion chemistry; Fires and fire safety;

Eligibility

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral applicants

Stipend
Base Stipend Travel Allotment Supplementation
$74,950.00 $3,000.00