Fulbright scholarship recipient Daniel Duke's visit to ANSTO showed that understanding the complex behaviour of spray patterns could be good for our health.
Aerosol cans used around the house, combustion engines in aircraft and even some new diagnostic techniques rely in some way on spray technologies.
While the application of these devices might look simple to the eye, there is a very defined science working in the background.
Daniel Duke, an Engineer from Monash University in Melbourne, knows a thing or two about this and was on hand at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation's (ANSTO) Lucas Heights campus recently to share his world class knowledge.
Spray research is complex but incredibly rewarding for people like Daniel who are looking into the behaviour of sprays to create ultra-efficient combustion that can improve emissions and fuel efficiency in engines.
Their work typically involves running diagnostic tests on a simulated spray in an engine at the atomic level to understand its flow.
While the work these physicists and engineers are conducting typically starts in the aerospace and auto industries, understanding spray physics in engines also allows us to apply efficiency gains in agriculture & medicine.
With that in mind, there was no better person than Daniel to help explain this research area and the benefits of his work.
Daniel, who is the ANSTO Fulbright Fellow in Nuclear Science and Technology, delivered a presentation on his international research work and toured the landmark infrastructure on 6 June.
Daniel is currently conducting research at Argonne National Laboratory in the United States and has just submitted his PhD thesis at the Laboratory for Turbulence Research in Aerospace & Combustion at the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Monash University.
He was able to continue his work from Monash University at a leading worldwide synchrotron, thanks to the ANSTO sponsorship of the Fulbright scholarship in Nuclear Science and Technology.
This scholarship also provided Daniel with access to the global Fulbright network of distinguished scholars and a number of high-level Fulbright events.
The synchrotron-based research allowed Daniel and his collaborators to look into the exact details of highly complex spray patterns and to analyse them with a number of methods, including developing numerical models predicting the spray behaviour.
This research is particularly relevant to reduce fuel consumption in combustion engines and therefore reducing CO2 emissions and the environmental footprint.
At ANSTO, Daniel was impressed with the landmark research infrastructure and discussed future collaboration opportunities, particularly with ANSTO’s neutron scattering experts at the Bragg Institute.
Are you inspired by Daniel’s journey and want to expand your Australian research to the United States?
Then use the opportunity to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship now, the applications for the Australian Fulbright scholarships, including the ANSTO Fulbright Scholarship in Nuclear Science and Technology, are open to Australian citizens until 20 August.
Published: 12/06/2012