FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

turbulent combustion modeling lab

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) will be updated regularly. 

Please note: the US English language rules calls turbulent combustion modeling, turbulent combustion modelling (with two L's).

What is turbulent combustion?

Turbulent combustion corresponds to a series of physical and chemical processes that take place when fuel and oxidizer burn in a turbulent flow environment. This involves a wide range of length and time scales related to chemical reactions (100’s species and reactions may be present and may not always be known), turbulent mixing and molecular diffusion. The full spatial and temporal resolution of turbulent combustion is still beyond reach for practical engineering systems. This is where the challenging tasks of experimental characterization and simulation come into play.

A good turbulent combustion model must be able to mimic the coupled effect of turbulent fluctuations on the chemical species reaction rates, and species production/destruction with corresponding heat release rate on the turbulent flow.

Beyond the theoretical development of a turbulent combustion model, a successful model implementation is closely linked to leading edge numerical techniques in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

Defined by Cecile Devaud, Turbulent Combustion Modeling Expert

What department is the Turbulent Combustion Modeling Lab located in?

Who leads the Turbulent Combustion Modeling Lab?

Cecile Devaud is a professor in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering. She is also a member of Waterloo Engineering’s Fire Research Group and the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy. Her research group focuses on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for turbulent reacting flows. Her interests lay in developing and implementing new mathematical models for problems related to turbulent mixing, flame stabilization and emissions. Applications are diverse; ranging from aero and automotive engines to fire scenario analysis. More recently, some research activities have been devoted to numerical simulations of two-phase flows and compartment fires related to the nuclear industry.

More about Prof. Devaud

I am a student, how can I work with the Turbulent Combustion Modeling Lab?

How do I partner or sponsor research? Can outside companies request research?

Many of our partners are government, industry and companies that need research. Please see our partners page and contact us directly.

Do you work with University of Waterloo's Fire Research and Safety group?

We work closely with the Fire Research and Safety group and partner with them for research. They have state-of-the-art facilities and welcome requests from outside companies or research centres interested in booking the facilities or collaborating on studies related to any aspect of fire performance, testing, and development. 

Do you work with other departments in the University?

Yes, we partner with all faculties and departments to garner specific expertise for specific research projects.

What types of industries/topics do the Turbulent Combustion Modeling Lab typically work with?

  • Control engineering
  • Direct numerical simulation
  • Engineering
  • Fire Safety Engineering
  • Integral equation
  • Large eddy simulation
  • Lifted flames
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical engineering
  • Mechanics
  • Moment closure
  • Probability density function
  • Reaction rate
  • Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations
  • Thermodynamics
  • Turbulence
  • Turbulent combustion modelling