Location:
Hudson Beare, Classroom 4
Date:
Friday, June 5, 2015 - 13:00 to 14:00
Speaker: Professor Mark Linne
Title: IC Engine Research: scientific pathways to breakthrough engine technology for high efficiency and fuel flexibility
Abstract:
Professor Linne’s presentation will be roughly split in half. The first part will cover the current situation regarding internal combustion (IC) engines and our goals as a new group at the university. Several projections for future markets will be presented and then the strategy behind our response will be explained. Following that, Linne will discuss some of his own research. The work has to do with specific problems related to fundamental understanding of transient fuel sprays, with a view towards development of more predictive models for direct injected IC engines. Much of that work involves development of new optical measurement techniques (passive and laser-based) in fairly challenging environments. In this regard, Prof. Linne plans to link ongoing work within his group at Chalmers University and new initiatives in Edinburgh.
Bio:
Professor Linne earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Minnesota in Mechanical Engineering with a specialty in power and propulsion. He worked part time during those years as an engineer at the General Motors Proving Grounds, which stretched out his student years but made it possible to pay tuition. He then earned MS and PhD degrees at Stanford University where he developed an experiment to study the chemistry of a NOx scrubbing technique called ‘Thermal DeNOx’. As an integral part of that work he developed novel fiberoptic/laser-based probes for reactive intermediate species. He also developed a chemical kinetics mechanism that modelled the data. He then went to work at Spectra-Physics Laser Products Division where he worked with a number of laser technologies, finally settling into development of the first commercially available diode-pumped solid state lasers. In 1989 he joined the Colorado School of Mines where he helped build up a new interdisciplinary engineering program. He also founded two combustion research centers (one encompassing general combustion topics and the other a specialized NASA center). While at CSM, Linne participated in the development of some now established laser diagnostics like particle image velocimetry and cavity ringdown absorption spectroscopy. He also led the development of short pulse techniques for species and for spray studies (one of which will be described in the seminar). In 2002 Linne moved to the University of Lund in southern Sweden, where he was quite active in studies related to efficient, low NOX gas turbine combustors and he continued the spray studies, but with a focus on sprays for aircraft gas turbines. He also started a small activity in fuel cell research. In 2006 he moved to the Combustion Research Facility at Sandia National Labs where he was the manager of the Department of Combustion Chemistry. While there he started a new activity on interfacial electrochemical dynamics in collaboration with the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley Lab. In 2009 Linne moved to Chalmers University in Gothenburg, Sweden where he was the director of the Combustion Engine Research Center. He also developed a much larger spray research program there and it is still going strong. He came to the University of Edinburgh in January of 2015.
