Simulating the Next Generation of Fuel-Efficient Engines

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Marianne Lavelle over at National Geographic News writes that supercomputers like Jaguar at ORNL are helping researchers design the next generation of fuel-efficient engines.

We don’t understand the coupling of turbulent mixing and ignition chemistry in fine enough detail to help us impact the design,” said Jacqueline Chen of Sandia National Laboratories. “You need to get the correct burn rate, or you get a very noisy engine.” In other words, either the fuel mixture needs to be adjusted, or the temperatures in different portions of the mixture need to be stratified, or layered, to control the speed at which pressure rises in the engine.”

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