Our Research - Laser gas diagnostics
Overview
The demand for sensing technology continues to grow and our research applies photonic technologies to meet the demanding measurement requirements of condition monitoring and asset management. Optical sensors encode information about the measurand of interest using the physical properties of light such as wavelength, frequency, polarization, phase or amplitude. Our research spans a wide spectrum of sensor development from demonstration of proof of concept sensing principles through to development and application of ruggedized systems deployed in harsh environments. We have a long established international track record in this field. Our current projects include application of tunable diode laser spectroscopy for aero-emissions monitoring; photoacoustic spectroscopy for trace gas detection; and optical fibre sensor technology for acoustic emission detection.
News
LINK: Pioneering £8M LITECS project has started in September 2020.
Funding sources
- EPSRC ("Laser Imaging of Turbine Engine Combusion Species (LITECS)", "In-situ Chemical Measurement and Imaging Diagnostics for Energy Process Engineering", "Diode-pumped Ti:sapphire Lasers: A Manufacturable Platform for Precision Photonics")
- European Comission H2020 ("CIDAR for CleanSky 2")
- SRUC ("Advanced Gas Sensing Approaches for Ruminant Livestock Monitoring")
- DEFRA ("Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) Technologies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Intensity")
Current projects
LITECS (Laser Imaging of Turbine Engine Combustion Species)
Mr Gough, Mr Dwivedi, Dr Upadhyay, Prof Stewart, Dr Lengden, Prof Johnstone
The ultimate ambition of the proposed research programme is reduced environmental impact of aviation and power generating gas turbine engines. Serious emissions reduction can only come from better understanding and modelling of the combustion and emissions generation processes and the roles of different fuels. Several disruptive chemical and particulate species measurement methods will be developed for detailed combustion zone and exhaust characterisation. These transformational new measurement capabilities will be applied to establishing, for the first, time the spatial and temporal evolution of combustion species and unwanted emissions within the engines. Such measurements will inform new understanding of the combustion and emissions generation processes and enable new technical strategies to ultimately deliver improved engine and fuel technologies for reduced emissions.
Miniaturised photoacoustic gas sensing
Mr Ilke, Dr Humphries, Prof Johnstone, Dr Lengden
In this project the development of miniaturised, high sensitive trace gas sensors based on photoacoustic spectroscopy is investigated. A rapid-prototyping 3D-printing approach is followed, allowing the design and build of low-cost sensors with exceptional sensitivity for use in industrial application settings.
Optical flame diagnostics
Mr Otti, Dr Humphries, Dr Burns, Dr Lengden
To investigate the combustion processes in flames at a spectroscopic levels requires highly sensitive and robust optical tools, with our research looking at the use of cavity ring-down spectroscopy and light induced incadecance to help identify combustion efficiencies and improve processes to allow the development of more efficient and less polutant combustion.