Introduction - Novel Combustion Concepts for Sustainable Energy Development - page 4

immediate past. India and China must develop clean and ef cient power and energy

conversion devices to signi cantly reduce their emissions. Furthermore with the

diminishing fossil fuel reserves worldwide, we must develop alternative energy
sources to power the currently available engines at higher ef

ciency and increased
performance. The USA consumes about 23 % of the annual world energy con-
sumption to support only 5 % of the global population while in China and India,
20 % of the world energy consumption supports about 35 % of the global popu-
lation. Industrial economy is much more dependent on the availability of clean
fossil fuel sources worldwide so that enhanced ef ciency of chemical to thermal

energy systems with lower pollution potential will help mitigate high amounts of
fossil fuel consumption. Therefore, developing economies of the world must con-
tinue research and development efforts to combat the common issues they face.
The identi

cation of novel alternative energy sources as well as deployment of

novel technologies for cleaner energy sources requires further research and

development efforts. Sustained research efforts in the field of chemical to thermal

energy conversion systems have motivated many researchers to seek novel com-
bustion technologies for a wide range of applications that extend from power
generation to industrial heat treatment processes and from automobiles to aerospace
propulsion technologies. These applications encompass wide range of combustion
intensities and time scales with different thermal and chemical behaviors.
Fundamental and applied combustion research has made significant advances in
mathematical modeling, sensors, diagnostics, data acquisition, and control. The
availability of high-speed computers has greatly enhanced the predictive capabilities
to understand the complex fl fluid dynamics and chemistry associated with reacting

fl flows in various fl flame and engine con gurations. Fundamental research on com-

bustion has made signi cant advances in both modeling and diagnostics. Validated

computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models are rapidly emerging and playing a

major role for the improved design of combustion systems through validated new
design concepts. Sensors and diagnostics to monitor and control a plant and com-
bustion unit are critical now than ever before. Their use in modern plants has grown
in recent times and it is expected that future smart combustion systems and plants
will use even more sensors and controls to closely monitor the local and global plant
performance. Use of such techniques has provided improve system ef

fl

ciency, sig-

ni cant pollution reduction, prolonged operation of combustion equipment, and

enhanced safety. The development efforts from fundamental and applied research
have resulted in the practical development and deployment with signi

cant
advancements in various sectors of chemical to thermal energy conversion tech-
nologies using all kinds of fossil and renewable fuels. International partnerships have
grown and this volume brings together many international researchers and engineers,
who provide their views on selected technologies and the path forward to meet the
growing demands on energy and the associated issues on pollution curtailment.
This research monograph on Novel Combustion Concepts for Sustainable
Energy Development provides both fundamental and applied innovations on several
key emerging technologies on fossil fuel and alternative fuel utilization in various
sectors of power, energy propulsion as well as biofuel production, and utilization in