Fuel release, mixing and ignition
The six themes below are not six separate subjects. They are positions on a single physical sequence: fuel escapes, spreads, finds an ignition source, burns, and releases heat and pressure. Select a stage to jump to the theme that covers it.
Hydrogen combustion & propulsion
Hydrogen's fast chemistry, broad flammability range and low ignition energy create both opportunities and control challenges. HECS will investigate flame development, lean combustion, abnormal combustion and hydrogen-fuelled power systems.
Hydrogen-fuelled engines & direct injection
Hydrogen's wide flammability limits and small quenching distance make port injection prone to backfire and pre-ignition, and its low density costs volumetric efficiency. Direct injection removes both problems and hands the engine a harder one: mixture formation now has a few milliseconds to produce a charge that is burnable, stratified where it should be, and free of the hot spots that start combustion early. HECS will work on injection strategy, in-cylinder mixing and the abnormal-combustion limits that decide how much load a hydrogen engine can actually carry.
Hydrogen safety, leaks & dispersion
Accidental releases couple compressible jets, buoyancy, atmospheric flow, mixing and ignition risk. The lab will develop validated tools for release characterization, ventilation, detection and mitigation.
Alternative fuels: methanol, ammonia & natural gas
Each of these fuels earns its place for a different reason, and each one fails differently. Methanol arrives as a liquid, so it brings spray break-up, evaporation and wall-wetting with it, while its high latent heat of vaporisation suits lean and boosted spark-ignition operation. Ammonia is carbon-free but burns roughly thirty times slower than hydrogen and carries an NOₓ and slip penalty, so it generally needs a promoter such as hydrogen to be usable. Natural gas is the bridging baseline with a mature supply chain, and it is where methane number, knock limits and methane slip get decided. HECS will run these as one comparative programme rather than three separate topics, because the honest comparison is what a fleet operator actually needs.
Sprays, ignition & optical diagnostics
Practical combustion begins with fuel preparation and ignition. The lab's first major build is a spray and combustion chamber with optical access, used to resolve spray penetration, evaporation, mixing, flame-kernel growth and ignition sensitivity for gaseous and liquid fuels alike.
Computational reactive flows & transport
CFD is used as a physics tool rather than only a visualization tool. Research will include species transport, turbulent jets, combustion, multiphase interaction and conjugate heat transfer, with systematic verification and validation.
Thermal safety & future energy systems
HECS will extend its transport and combustion expertise to thermal-management and failure phenomena in electrochemical and hybrid systems, including vent-gas ignition and battery thermal runaway.