# Presentation: 854009

## NSF Program in:Combustion, Fire, and Plasma Systems 

**Phillip R. Westmoreland**
**Program Director, **
**Combustion, Fire, and Plasma Systems (CFP)**
*Rotator from *
*U. Massachusetts Amherst / ChE*

## Combustion, Fire and Plasma Program (CFP)Phil Westmoreland, pwestmor@nsf.gov

**Focus**** is on the forefront engineering science.**
**Contrast to device or process development.**
**Combustion:**** Energy to manufacturing to health effects**
**Fossil and biofuels; Products and pollutants.**
**Gas kinetics, CFD, sprays, solid-phase synthesis.**
**Fire:**** Safety-driven, from suppressants to fire events.**
**Plasma:**** Phenomena and processing. **
**Linked by dual importance of chemistry and physics.**

## DIRECTORATE FOR ENGINEERING

**DIRECTORATE ****FOR**** ENGINEERING**

## Combustion, Fire and Plasma Program (CFP)

**Combustion: ****Energy, manufacturing, health effects, ...**
**Fossil and biofuels; Products and pollutants.**
**Gas kinetics, CFD, sprays, solid-phase synthesis.**
**Fire: ****Safety-driven, from suppressants to fire events.**
**Plasma: ****Phenomena and processing.**
**Includes experiments, theory, computer modeling.**
**NSF’s focus is engineering science at the forefront, in contrast to device or process development.**
**Linked by dual importance of chemistry and physics.**
**Current: $4.7****+****M/yr:  2 CAREER, ~14 std at ~$290K/3yr.**

## Investigating Nano-carbon Particles in the Atmosphere: Formation and TransformationLighty, Pugmire, Sarofim, Violi, Voth - Utah

**Growth from molecules to soot particles by multiscale combination of:**
_***Molecular Dynamics***_
**Limited to small time scales, with time steps on the order of a fraction of the vibrational period.**
_***Kinetic Monte Carlo***_
**Unrestricted time scales. Time step determined by the kinetics, ~ms**

**Coarse-grained MD**

**NIRT EEC-0304433**

**Notes:**
The objectives of this NIRT are focused on gaining a clearer understanding of the chemical and physical processes occurring in the formation of carbon nanoparticles and their subsequent transformation in the exhaust.  Three thrust areas are:

1. The development of theoretical and experimental methodologies to
describe the formation of heavier hydrocarbons and particle inception;
2. The modeling and measurement of the particle size distribution of
nanoparticles formed in combustion and in diesel exhaust; and,
3. The modeling of the optical properties of soot precursors and soot
as it ages.

Our multiscale computational approach to study nanoparticle formation has
excellent computational scaling. The KMC/MD code for nanoparticle growth
can scale well over hundreds to thousands of processors, while the
coarse-grained MD approach for nanoparticle aggregation is amenable to
spatial decomposition schemes. It too can scale well over hundreds to
thousands of processors.

## CAREER:  High-Fidelity Numerical Modeling & Simulation of Fire SuppressionPaul E. DesJardin – University at Buffalo – The State University of New York

**CAREER:  High-Fidelity Numerical Modeling ****& Simulation of Fire Suppression****Paul E. DesJardin – University at Buffalo **– The State University of New York

**For suppressing pool fires, the P.I. predicts multiphase turbulent mixing processes over a wide range of time/length scales.**
**Turbulence modeling with reactions has been a grand-challenge problem.**
**Here, model large-scale turbulent motion directly by “Large-Eddy Simulation” method;**
**Model small scales stochastically; and**
**Account for interactions among nonlinear turbulence/chemistry/radiation/droplet models.**
**Broad impacts are excellent: Researchers collaborate with Sandia, the Navy, & NIST.**
**Supercomputer use for the 3-D calculations educates students about high-performance computing.**

**CBET-0348110**

## Making Nanotubes and Nanowires with FlamesStephen D. Tse  -  Rutgers University

**Flame-based chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with various catalytic supports, supplemented by electrical force fields to improve uniformity and productivity. **
**To assess growth mechanisms, used spontaneous Raman scattering to determine the gas-phase temperature profile and to map CO, C****2****H****2****, CH****4****, H****2****, and O****2**** species, and used laser-induced fluorescence to map OH and C****2**** distributions. **

| (a) Well-aligned carbon nanotubes. | (b) Tungsten-oxide nanowires. | (c) Zinc-oxide connected nanorods. |
| --- | --- | --- |

**CBET-0522556**

## Cyberinfrastructure can be used to couple data, models, people; The C-F-P communities are pushing advanced uses.

**Just as for nanotechnology, defining cyberinfrastructure as an organizing concept opens unexpected opportunities. **
**Some components:**
**Leading-edge computers**
**Networks and Grid-based computation**
***Internet 2.0 and Teragrid***
**Application codes and middleware**
***“******Simulation-Based Engineering and Science” (SBE&S)***
***Active databases***
**Especially note: Virtual Organizations (VO’s)**

## Consider various funding opportunities, including CyberInfrastructure

**CAREER and Unsolicited awards from CFP program.**
**Submission dates: Mid-July (CAREER), Sept 15 and March 1 (Unsol).**
**Requires highest quality based on Intellectual Merit & Broader Impacts.**
**About 15-20% funded, depending on number of proposals.**
**Cyber-enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI)**
**Potentially transformative for two or more disciplines.**
**Level of work: 2 PI’s, 2 students, 3 yrs **_**or**_** 3 PI, 3 students, PD, 4 yrs.**
**$40M for 40 awards in FY2008.**
**Accelerating Discovery in Science and Engineering through Petascale Simulations and Analysis (PetaApps)**
**Applications using the most cutting-edge high-performance computing.**
**TeraGrid**
**Computer access – 30K to 10M CPU hours, big memory and storage.**
**Apply to teragrid.org, not NSF – Starter awards approved quickly.**

## Our goal is to support outstanding engineering science.

**Contact:**
**Combustion, Fire, and Plasma: **
**	****	****	****Phil Westmoreland,  ****pwestmor@nsf.gov**
**Next window for unsolicited proposals to CBET:**
**February 1 to March 2, 2009**

## For the most up-to-date informationabout CFP funding, see:

**Program description:**
- _[http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13366&org=CBET](http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13366&org=CBET)_
**Awards database (from program description page):**
** **
**http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/progSearch.do;jsessionid=BF085873CF5782A3D0C3AD4DA360718C?SearchType=progSearch&page=2&QueryText=&ProgOrganization=CBET&ProgOfficer=&ProgEleCode=1407&BooleanElement=false&ProgRefCode=&BooleanRef=false&ProgProgram=&ProgFoaCode=&RestrictActive=on&Search=Search#results**