# Presentation: 854006

## 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*

## CBET

**Chemical, **
**Biochemical, and **
**Biotechnology **
**Systems**

**Transport and**
**Thermal Fluids**

- Process and
- Reaction Engineering
**Maria Burka**

- Catalysis and
- Biocatalysis
**John Regalbuto**

- Biochemical
- Engineering
**Bruce Hamilton**

- Biotechnology
**Fred Heineken**

- Chemical and
- Biological Separations
**Geoff Prentice**

- Thermal
- Transport Processes
**Pat Phelan**

- Interfacial Processes
- And Thermodynamics
**Bob Wellek**

- Particulate and
- Multiphase Processes
**Vacant**

- Fluid Dynamics
**Bill Schultz**

- Combustion, Fire, and
- Plasma Systems
**Phil Westmoreland**

- Division Director
**Judy Raper**

- Deputy Division Director
**Bob Wellek**

- Senior Advisor
**Marshall Lih**

**Biomedical **
**Engineering and**
**Engineering**
**Healthcare**

- Research to Aid
- Persons With
- Disabilities
**Bob Jaeger**

- Biomedical
- Engineering
**Semahat Demir**

- Biophotonics
**Leon Esterowitz**

**Environmental**
**Engineering and**
**Sustainability**

- Environmental
- Engineering
**Pat Brezonik**

- Environmental
- Technology
**Cindy Ekstein**

- Energy for
- Sustainability
**Vacant**

- Environmental
- Sustainability
** ****Cindy Lee**

## 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.

## Investigating Nano-carbon Particles in the Atmosphere: Formation and TransformationLighty, Pugmire, Sarofim, Violi, Voth (Utah; NIRT EEC-0304433)

**Coarse-grained MD**

- 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**

**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.

## High-Fidelity Numerical Modeling & Simulation of Fire SuppressionPaul E. DesJardin (U. Buffalo; CAREER Award, CTS-0348110)

**High-Fidelity Numerical Modeling & Simulation of Fire Suppression***Paul E. DesJardin (U. Buffalo; CAREER Award, CTS-0348110)*

- 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.

## Cyberinfrastructure can be used to couple data, models, people; The CFP 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” (SBES)*
*Active databases*
- Scientific gateways and Virtual organizations

## An example from outside CFP:  nanoHUB.org

## Slide 8

## One grassroots activity for combustion kinetics – and more.

- NSF
- Cyber-Enabled
- Chemistry:
- CHE-0535542

## Our goal is to support outstanding engineering science.

**Contact:**
**Combustion, Fire, and Plasma: **
**	****	****	****Phil Westmoreland, **_[pwestmor@nsf.org](mailto:pwestmor@nsf.org)_
**Next window for unsolicited proposals to CBET:**
**February 1 to March 1, 2007**

## Appendices

## 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
- Currently, 69 active grants.