Facilities

3P Lab is located within the University of Minnesota Engine Lab premises. The 6,000-square-foot laboratory is a state-of-the-art engine and combustion research facility. It contains two engine test cells with AC regenerative dynamometers and a combustion research laboratory, which houses an NSF-MRI-sponsored rapid compression and expansion machine (RCEM), multiple high-pressure optical vessels, a laboratory scale flare simulator, and a miniature supersonic wind tunnel. 3P Lab is equipped with all the necessary features for safely operating combustion equipment, including ventilation, exhaust ducting, gas detection, and safety interlocks. The facility also contains offices, storage, and shop space.

The lab is well equipped with numerous instruments, including a number for measurement of gaseous emissions including: 1 – AVL FTIR Analyzer, 1 – Raman laser gas analyzer, 1 – Agilent micro-Gas Chromatograph with thermal conductivity detectors, 1 Inficon micro-Gas Chromatograph with thermal conductivity detectors, 1 TSI Nanoparticle Surface Area Monitor (NSAM), 1 AVL micro soot sensor (MSS), 2 Magee Scientific Aethalometers, and 1 TSI Aerosol Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (ATOFMS) and numerous individual gas analyzers for monitoring raw and diluted H₂, CO, CO₂, NO_X, NO, and NO₂. An Agilent 7890B gas chromatograph coupled to an Agilent 5977A mass spectrometer is available. The GC is fitted with a 6-port 2-way pneumatic gas-switching valve. Particle instruments available for use in the proposed project include: 3 TSI scanning mobility particle sizers (SMPS), 2 TSI engine exhaust particle sizers (EEPS), 1 Cambustion centrifugal particle mass analyzer.

University of Minnesota Engine lab has a long history of the development of sampling and dilution systems for nanoparticle measurement. A variety of dilution and sampling systems that have been developed in-house are available as well a Sierra Instruments BG2 and 2 Dekati Fine Particle Samplers (FPS). Filter sampling and weighing facilities are also available. Pertinent university-wide resources for analysis of combustion products include the Leclaire-Dow Instrumentation Facility for GC-MS analyses and microscopy.

3P Lab has the capability to perform OH, NO planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) and particle image velocimetry (PIV) using a 10 Hz Nd:YAG laser coupled with a Dye laser. The lab is in the process of acquiring a high-speed Photron camera capable of reaching 100,000 frames per second at 512x512 pixel resolution, a Lambert image intensifier, and a high-speed, high-power (~1-4 mJ/pulse @10 kHz) laser system with an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) for frequency tuning from deep UV to near-infrared. This will enable time and space resolved measurements of atomic (e.g., O, H, etc.) and molecular (e.g., OH, NO, etc.) diagnostics that will be vital for plasma and propulsion projects.