Fuels and combustion education
The von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center complements the mission of the National Aerospace Fuels Research Complex and Combustion Branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory and Combustion Center of Excellence of GE Aircraft Engines. The researchers and graduate students work in concert to foster education, research and development, and technology transfer, including patents, licensing, and invention spin-offs.
Vision
To be recognized as a national and international resource for quality education, state-of-the-art research and efficient technology transfer in the areas of fuels and combustion.
Mission
The von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center will develop multidisciplinary educational courses in fuels and combustion, conduct sponsored research and facilitate technology transfer. It will provide a valuable resource for local, state, and national needs and fulfill the University's mission of teaching, research, technology transfer, and public service.
Hans von Ohain.
Education
You can work collectively with the AFRL's National Aerospace Fuels Research Complex, the DoD, the DoE and NASA to advance the turbine engine and take engineering courses in fuels, combustion and propulsion systems. Various forms of student financial aid are available.
Multidisciplinary
- Mechanical and aerospace engineering.
- Chemical and materials engineering.
- Electro-optics program.
- Chemistry, physics and mathematics.
Partial course listing
Fuels- Aerospace fuels science
- Introduction to combustion and fuels
- Introduction to combustion and fuels
- Combustion theory
- Advanced propulsion systems
- Convective heat and mass transfer
- Turbulence
Continuing education
- Fuel properties and test methods
- Fuel handling and field analysis
- Gas turbine combustion
- Emissions reduction
Student internships
- AFRL and industry programs
- International student exchange
Distinctive graduates
- Facilities for student projects (AFRL)
- Co-op opportunities with industry (GE-AE)
Scholar/Adjunct exchange
- Government labs (AFRL and NASA)
- Industry (GE-AE, Boeing, BP/Shell)
- DAGSI collaboration
- International collaboration (Cranfield University, RollsRoyce., U.K.)
Research
COMPETENCIES IN FUELS AND COMBUSTION
- Chemistry of antioxidants, additives, and deposit formation, fuel thermal stability modeling and testing, fuel system simulation, fuel-material interactions.
- Combustion kinetics, turbulent combustion, reactor designs, gaseous and particulate emissions, combustor and turbine cooling.
EMERGING COMPETENCIES
- Intelligent fuels, computational fuels chemistry, modeling and simulation of aircraft fuel system, integrated thermal management.
- Fuel cells and membrane development.
- Particulate emissions, ultra-low emissions combustion, combustion instability.
- Fuel properties and test methods, fuel handling and field analysis.
- Gas turbine combustion.
- Emissions reduction.
RESEARCH SPONSORSHIPS
- AFOSR and AFRL/UDRI cooperative research and development agreement.
- DoE, NASA-GRC, and FAA.
- State of Ohio (Propulsion 21 and DAGSI).
- Other diverse funding sources: basic research, exploratory development and advanced development funds.
Technology transfer
Spin-offs, patents and technology commercialization
- Convert research to high-tech products.
Consulting for industry and government
- One-stop solution provider in fuels and combustion problems.
- Internet-based service for Center collaborators.
Knowledge dissemination
- Organize panels, workshops, invited lectures and conferences.
- Invite research scholars to Miami Valley.
Patents available
- Stabilizing additive for the prevention of oxidation and peroxide formation, No.6,475,252B1.
- Method for measuring peroxide concentration in hydrocarbon fuels, No. 5,480,808.
- Peroxide decomposers and radical chain inhibitors used as diesel fuel stabilizer additive package, 09/398,119.
Test techniques available
- Quartz crystal microbalance.
- Cold flow jet fuel additives screening.
- Low temperature jet fuel viscometry.
- Extended duration jet fuel test.
- Coherent anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy.
- Laser induced fluorescence.
- Laser sheet flow visualization.
- Rotational Raman spectroscopy.
Knowledge dissemination
Our mission and charter encompass the promotion and dissemination of knowledge in fuels, combustion and related areas. We will organize symposia, workshops, conferences and scholarly lectures covering the above subject areas. To the extent possible, we will make available for wider public distribution, the proceedings of these symposia, workshops and conferences.
Top from Knowledge dissemination
News
DR. JAMIE ERVIN NAMED ENDOWED CHAIR
September 26, 2014, Dr. Jamie Ervin, Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Group Leader of Modeling and Simulation, Energy and Environmental Engineering Division, University of Dayton Research Institute, was named Hans von Ohain Endowed Chair in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Dr. Ervin has received numerous awards for his scholarly accomplishments including the University of Dayton Alumni Award for Faculty Scholarship, the Affiliate Society Council of Dayton-Outstanding Engineer and the School of Engineering Research Award. He has contributed significantly to the Jet A Program, which was nominated recently for the Air Force Chief of Staff Team Excellence Award. He has served as PI or Co-PI for research programs in aerospace fuels and thermal management with total funding exceeding $70,000,000.
As a teacher, Dr. Ervin has provided a rich learning experience for students in thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics. His external teaching includes an Aerospace Fuels Course for the Air Force Petroleum Agency. He has directed the research of graduate and undergraduate students who have become leaders in their communities. Engaged in service activities, Dr. Ervin has served on numerous University and community committees and also has served as session chair and reviewer for multiple conferences and journals. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
The Ohain Endowed Chair demonstrates the School of Engineering’s strong commitment to engineering education and scholarly research in aerospace fuels, combustion, and thermal management and empowers the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering to maintain a leadership position in these important areas.
Dr. Hans von Ohain (1911-1998) designed and developed the engine used in the world’s first turbojet flight (1939). His work has been described as the most important contribution to aerospace technology since the Wright Brothers’ invention of powered flight. In 1947, Ohain worked with the U.S. Army Air Corps and performed theoretical work on advanced air-breathing propulsion systems. Later, he was engaged in research for the U.S. Air Force. Ohain ultimately became Chief Scientist of the Aero Propulsion Laboratory. His propulsion and energy conversion research spanned a broad range including gas turbine engines, electro fluid dynamics and nuclear propulsion. In 1979, Ohain joined the University of Dayton Research Institute and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
IN MEMORIAM OF WORLD-CLASS FUELS RESEARCHER AND 'TRUE ROLE MODEL'
Dr. Dilip Ballal, distinguished faculty member and researcher at the University of Dayton, passed away Friday, November 23, 2012.
CONVENTIONAL AND SYNTHETIC JET FUEL BLEND DESIGNED FOR MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT
The Theodore von Karman National Aerospace Award was presented at the annual AFA convention and ceremony in Washington, D.C. to a team of engineers, chemists and technicians for its research and development in alternative fuels. The development of synthetic and bio-based alternative fuels is "game-changing" and marks the third time in aviation history fuel specifications have been dramatically altered, said Dilip Ballal, head of the University of Dayton Research Institute's Energy and Environmental Engineering Division and director of the University's von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center.
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR LIFETIME SCHOLARLY CONTRIBUTIONS FOR ADVANCING GAS TURBINE TECHNOLOGY
Dilip Ballal, director of von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center, received international recognition when he was honored by ASME with the 2011 ASME R. Tom Sawyer Award.
INTERNATIONAL DEMAND FOR UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON RESEARCH DILIP BALLAL FOR HIS RESEARCH WITH GAS TURBINE ENGINEERING
Dilip Ballal, director of the von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center, will deliver the keynote address on gas turbine technology at the Aero India 2011 Air Show in Bangalore as well as foster international collaboration in gas turbine engine development.
FAA COMMENDS AIR FORCE SYNTHETIC FUELS TEAM: VON OHAIN CENTER KEY UNIVERSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Air Force team receives the Federal Aviation Administration's 2007 Excellence in Aviation Research Award.
VON OHAIN FUELS AND COMBUSTION CENTER DIRECTOR TO PARTICIPATE IN ASME GLOBAL SUMMIT ON ENGINEERING
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers will hold a global summit on engineering at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. (April 16-18, 2008).
VON OHAIN FUELS AND COMBUSTION CENTER: $10 MILLION IN AIR FORCE FUNDING TO ADVANCE JET FUELS AND COMBUSTION TECHNOLOGIES
As a result of its successful, award-winning research, von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center has received $10M from the Air Force to continue its pioneering work in advanced jet fuels and combustion technologies.
ON-CAMPUS FUELS AND COMBUSTION LABORATORY INAUGURATED
On July 19, 2007, the von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center inaugurated a new Fuels and Combustion Laboratory at the University of Dayton's Shroyer Park Center.
DIRECTOR RECEIVES AIAA AWARD
Dilip Ballal, director of the von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center, is the recipient of the 2007 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Air Breathing Propulsion Award.
VON OHAIN FUELS AND COMBUSTION CENTER RECEIVES GRANTS
Industrial grants for fuels and combustion research totaling $1.1 million were won by von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center researchers.
VON OHAIN FUELS AND COMBUSTION CENTER GROWS FUELS, MODELING AND SIMULATION, AND COMBUSTION ACTIVITIES
Recent price increases and supply disruptions have demonstrated the need for a secure U.S. source of alternative liquid transportation fuels.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION FOR VON OHAIN FUELS AND COMBUSTION CENTER RESEARCHERS
Multiple von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center researchers recipients of awards and recognition.
VON OHAIN FUELS AND COMBUSTION CENTER EXPERIENCES GROWTH — HIRING RESEARCHERS
von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center has received several grants within recent months and is currently undergoing a period of significant growth in human and physical resources.
VON OHAIN FUELS AND COMBUSTION CENTER DIRECTOR RECEIVES NATIONAL RECOGNITION AND HONORS
Dilip Ballal was twice recognized for outstanding work. He was named the editor-in-chief of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power. His five-year appointment began on July 1, 2006. This quarterly journal, hailed as the most prestigious publication in the world of gas turbine and power engineering, annually publishes between 140 to 150 archival papers.
Dr. Ballal was named to a second National Academy Committee on “Analysis of Air Force Engine Efficiency Improvement Options.” He was selected from a pool of more than 200 nationally recognized propulsion experts and received a letter of commendation from the committee chairman retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Kenneth Eickmann.
In the past, Dr. Ballal has served on a national academies' committee on “Aerospace Propulsion” and contributed to an NRC report published in 2006.
VON OHAIN FUELS AND COMBUSTION CENTER DISTINGUISHED LECTURES FALL 2005
Technology for the Next Century of Aviation, presented by Richard L. Stanley, vice president and general manager of GE Transportation's engineering division.
NEW AIR TERMINAL TO BE NAMED AFTER HANS VON OHAIN
The German Aviation Traffic Ministry christens its new "Hans von Ohain" terminal at the Rostock-Laage Airport September 9, 2005.
VON OHAIN FUELS AND COMBUSTION CENTER DIRECTOR NAMED ASME VICE PRESIDENT AND ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) announced the appointment of Dr. Dilip Ballal as ASME vice president (elect) for the International Gas Turbine Institute.
JET FUELS WORKSHOP
von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center and the Air Force Research Lab will host a "Jet Fuels Workshop" on November 16-17, 2004.
65TH ANNIVERSARY OF JET PROPULSION
von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center and the Air Force Research Lab will jointly commemorate the 65th anniversary of the first flight of the jet engine on August 27, 2004.
VON OHAIN FUELS AND COMBUSTION CENTER DEVELOPS TWO NEW GRADUATE COURSES
- MEE/AEE 560: Advanced Propulsion Systems
- MEE/AEE 590: Aerospace Fuels Science
UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON AND GENERAL ELECTRIC ESTABLISH HANS VON OHAIN/GENERAL ELECTRIC GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS
In response to the growing national need for American engineers, the University of Dayton and the General Electric Company have established two graduate fellowships that are to be awarded annually to outstanding graduate students who wish to pursue doctoral studies in aerospace engineering.
DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES
Propulsion challenges: Past, present, and future, Alan Garscadden, chief scientist, Propulsion Directorate, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES
Fueling the future of aerospace, William E. Harrison, III, chief, Fuels Branch, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
WRIGHT CENTER OF INNOVATION (WCI) GRANT
The von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center receives state funding.
NASA PROPULSION 21 GRANT
The University of Dayton's von Ohain Fuels and Combustion Center in the School of Engineering won a $1.1 million contract from NASA Glenn Research Center.