Personal statement
My research involves the development and application of optical techniques for the characterisation of reacting flows. We use light sources ranging from compact diode lasers and LEDs to high-power pulsed lasers. This experimental work is supported by data analysis and modelling to extract physically meaningful information from the measured signals.
We use these techniques to investigate the formation of soot in combustion processes. Soot (also known as black carbon) is a significant agent of climate forcing. Experimental characterisation of well-defined laboratory flames is essential to understanding the mechanism of soot formation and thus to predict and minimise its emission from combustion processes.
Expertise
Has expertise in:
I lead research on the development and application of custom measurement techniques for imaging reacting flows, including under harsh conditions of luminosity, turbidity and high temperature. This includes measurement of:
- Temperature
- Concentration of trace gases
- Concentration of particulates
- Particle size
This has obvious relevance to a wide range of industrial problems and we are keen to build new partnerships to exploit these possibilities.
Qualifications
MEng Chemical Engineering (University of Strathclyde)
PhD Chemical Engineering (University of Cambridge)
Teaching
I currently teach mass transfer, vapour-liquid separations and adsorption processes to Year 3 and process measurements to final year MEng students.
I supervise research and industrial projects for full-time and distance-learning MEng and MSc students, chemical engineering design projects and undergraduate summer research projects.
I have previously lectured on process design, engineering maths, thermodynamics and chemical reactor engineering so I have broad experience of teaching the core components of the Chemical Engineering undergraduate curriculum.
Research interests
- Laser induced fluorescence
- Cavity ring-down spectroscopy
- Laser induced incandescence
- Light scattering
- Combustion
- Laminar flames
- Temperature measurement
- Trace gas detection
- Soot and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- Direct flame fuel cells
- Crystallisation
Professional activities
- Strathclyde Adsorption Summer School 2022
- Keynote/plenary speaker
- 15/6/2022
- Strathclyde Adsorption Summer School 2019
- Keynote/plenary speaker
- 18/6/2019
- Strathclyde Adsorption Summer School 2018
- Keynote/plenary speaker
- 12/6/2018
- Strathclyde Adsorption Summer School 2017
- Keynote/plenary speaker
- 19/6/2017
More professional activities
Projects
- Doctoral Training Partnership 2020-2021 University of Strathclyde | Seecharam, Anshul Nilesh
- Burns, Iain (Principal Investigator) Brightman, Edward (Co-investigator) Jorge, Miguel (Co-investigator) Seecharam, Anshul Nilesh (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2022 - 01-Jan-2025
- Laser Imaging of Turbine Engine Combusion Species (LITECS) (Programme Grant)
- Johnstone, Walter (Principal Investigator) Burns, Iain (Co-investigator) Lengden, Michael (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2020 - 31-Jan-2024
- Doctoral Training Partnership 2018-19 University of Strathclyde | Andrews, Timothy
- Burns, Iain (Principal Investigator) Andreu, Aurik (Co-investigator) Andrews, Timothy (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2019 - 01-Jan-2023
- CIDAR for CleanSky 2 (Combustion species Imaging Diagnostics for Aero-engine Research)
- Lengden, Michael (Principal Investigator) Burns, Iain (Co-investigator) Johnstone, Walter (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2018 - 31-Jan-2021
- 2016 EPSRC Doctoral Prize - Intra-Cavity Photo-acoustic Gas Sensing
- Humphries, Gordon Samuel (Principal Investigator) Lengden, Michael (Academic) Burns, Iain (Academic)
- The monitoring of trace gases at low concentration is of vital importance across a range of areas (pollutant emission measurement, process control, medical diagnostics). NOx pollution has attracted significant attention, due to the increase in diesel and nitrogen-based bio-fuels usage and the misrepresentation of pollutant levels in the automotive industry. This project will develop a highly sensitive optical sensor targeting nitric oxide (NO), which is an atmospheric pollutant and a pre-cursor to NO2, contributing to significant numbers of UK deaths per annum. Current measurement techniques cannot accurately measure NO and NO2 concentration in the atmosphere at the levels considered dangerous. As its harmful effects become increasingly apparent there is a pressing need for a step change in sensor technology, requiring two orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity to levels lower than 500 parts per trillion (ppt) and providing improved data for analysis of pollutant species in environmental modelling.
To meet this need we will combine research from Strathclyde and Oxford University to develop a novel gas sensor, integrating the world-leading expertise from both institutions; Strathclyde- considerable expertise in cavity-based optical absorption and photoacoustic techniques for gas detection; Oxford – expertise in an advanced optical technique (optical-feedback-cavity- enhanced absorption spectroscopy - OF-CEAS). The integration of these two techniques has the potential to provide a sensitivity increase of two orders of magnitude, which translates to minimum detection sensitivities of NO and NO2 of 50ppt and 5ppt respectively, well within the range required for practical applications. - 01-Jan-2017 - 28-Jan-2018
- In-situ Chemical Measurement and Imaging Diagnostics for Energy Process Engineering (Platform Grant)
- Johnstone, Walter (Principal Investigator) Burns, Iain (Co-investigator) Lengden, Michael (Co-investigator) Stewart, George (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2016 - 30-Jan-2021
More projects
Address
Chemical and Process Engineering
James Weir
James Weir
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