Dr. Sadr is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University at Qatar. His research interests include experimental techniques in thermo/fluid science with focus on Advanced Energy Efficient Systems. He has active projects in nano/micro-fluids, droplets and sprays, alternative and bio fuels, atmospheric turbulence, and super critical fluid flows. His research work is focused on nano particle movement in fluids and on the novel experimental and numerical techniques in particulated flow at micro. The current focus of Dr. Reza’s team is on Advanced Energy Efficient Systems and on spray and combustion characterization of Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) Fuel. He is continuing his work in alternative energy tasks by studying Atmospheric Surface Layer (ASL) in Qatar to characterize pollution dispersion and potential wind energy applications in this region. Dr. Sadr is a member of ASME and APS.
Research
Alternative Fuel spray research at Texas A&M University at Qatar
In the last few years, the thrust for finding a clean, alternative (i.e., non-petroleum based) transportation fuel has become increasingly important than ever before owing to the environmental concerns and high cost of transportation fuels. Consequently, “synthetic” fuels are developed (using “Fisher-Tropsch” (F-T) synthesis) from different feed-stocks such as natural gas, coal, and biomass and tested as a viable alternative for transportation fuel. Among them, Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) fuel is considered as more environmental friendly due to the absence of sulfur, and less aromatic content than the conventional diesel, jet and coal-to-liquid (CTL) fuels.
Any alternative fuel has to comply with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) certification standards to be able to commercially use the fuel as a blending component or as replacement. Since the production methodology of GTL fuel is different from those of the conventional jet and diesel fuels, the chemical and physical properties of GTL fuel are different from its conventional counterparts. This difference could have a significant impact on the pollutant formation, life, durability, and efficiency of the combustor. Therefore, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the fundamental characteristics of the fuel such as atomization, evaporation, mixing, combustion, and emission performance, before it could be used in commercial engines.
Micro Scale Thermo Fluids (MSTF) laboratory at Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) houses one of the most advanced thermo-fluid mechanics facilities in Middle East. The laboratory is engaged in Advanced Energy Efficient System research by housing experimental facilities for microfluidics, supercritical, alternative energy, droplet and spray research (droplet size and velocity distribution). The spray research is focused for applications in combustion chambers, such as jet engines and industrial boilers. For liquid fuels, the atomization process, wherein the liquid fuel is disintegrated into fine (micron sized) droplets play a major role in the combustion and emission aspects gas turbines and boilers. This signifies the importance of the research work underway at TAMUQ, where, the spray characteristics of GTL fuels are investigated as part of the above collaborative research work.
An experimental facility was designed and built exclusively at TAMUQ to carry out non-reacting, cold spray characteristics of GTL fuels at different operating conditions. The fuel spray characteristics like droplet size, its distribution and velocities are investigated using the state-of-the-art laser diagnostic measurement techniques such as Phase Doppler Anemometry and Global Sizing Velocimetry, where each measurement technique is unique on its own. High power lasers, sensitive CCD cameras, ultra-high speed CMOS cameras, state of the art fluid flow facilities (sensitive fluid metering systems, thermocouples, pressure gages, and heat exchangers) and data acquisition systems are used in the lab for detail fluid mechanics and heat transfer research. The imaging set up provides the ability to image the spray at “one hundredth of a millisecond”.