Engines and energy conversion laboratory
Encyclopedia
The Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory (EECL) is a research
/education
program housed in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University
(CSU).
. The laboratory was established in the Old Fort Collins
Power Plant in June 1992. In the years since then the laboratory has grown to become one of the largest and most influential engines research programs in the United States
. The EECL is widely recognized as an international leader in the fields of large gas engine
s for power generation and compression, small 2-stroke cycle engines for use in developing countries, alternative fuel
s for automobile
s, computational fluid dynamic
(CFD) modeling of engines, and optical combustion diagnostics. The Department has invested in the laboratory through hiring faculty members who have established new EECL programs in diesel engine
s, laser
diagnostics, and plasma
applications in engines.
pipeline engines produced a series of market driven environmental solutions that have transformed the industry. In the last five years the lab has kept the same approach, but has expanded its scope to encompass areas both upstream (fuel
s) and downstream (power grids) of is core engine expertise. In addition, the EECL has applied this core expertise in energy conversion
technology and product development to the creation of solutions with a global impact on energy production, conversion, and consumption
- testing new energy technologies around the world including India
, The Philippines
, Guatemala
, Nicaragua
, and Nepal
. Cumulative research awards for the EECL now exceed $25 million and in 2008, the EECL was renamed one of CSU's elite "Programs of Research and Scholarly Excellence."
research including algae
-derived biofuels through its partnership with Solix, household energy research involving cookstoves through its partnership with Envirofit International, as well as distributed power
and smart grid research through its partnership with Spirae and Integrid.
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
/education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
program housed in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
(CSU).
Background
The Engines & Energy Conversion Laboratory (EECL) is housed in the Department of Mechanical EngineeringMechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
. The laboratory was established in the Old Fort Collins
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2010 census...
Power Plant in June 1992. In the years since then the laboratory has grown to become one of the largest and most influential engines research programs in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The EECL is widely recognized as an international leader in the fields of large gas engine
Gas engine
A gas engine means an engine running on a gas, such as coal gas, producer gas biogas, landfill gas, or natural gas. In the UK, the term is unambiguous...
s for power generation and compression, small 2-stroke cycle engines for use in developing countries, alternative fuel
Alternative fuel
Alternative fuels, known as non-conventional or advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels...
s for automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s, computational fluid dynamic
Computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics, usually abbreviated as CFD, is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the interaction of liquids and gases with...
(CFD) modeling of engines, and optical combustion diagnostics. The Department has invested in the laboratory through hiring faculty members who have established new EECL programs in diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s, laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
diagnostics, and plasma
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
applications in engines.
Natural Gas Engines
The EECL's earliest work with natural gasNatural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
pipeline engines produced a series of market driven environmental solutions that have transformed the industry. In the last five years the lab has kept the same approach, but has expanded its scope to encompass areas both upstream (fuel
Fuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
s) and downstream (power grids) of is core engine expertise. In addition, the EECL has applied this core expertise in energy conversion
Energy conversion
Transforming energy is when the energy changes into another form.In physics, the term energy describes the capacity to produce changes within a system, without regard to limitations in transformation imposed by entropy...
technology and product development to the creation of solutions with a global impact on energy production, conversion, and consumption
Energy consumption
Energy consumption is the consumption of energy or power. It is covered in the following articles and categories:* World energy consumption* Domestic energy consumption* Fuel efficiency in transportation* Electric energy consumption* Electricity generation...
- testing new energy technologies around the world including India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, The Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. Cumulative research awards for the EECL now exceed $25 million and in 2008, the EECL was renamed one of CSU's elite "Programs of Research and Scholarly Excellence."
Research
The Lab's main research areas include engine emissions and efficiency research, biofuelBiofuel
Biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases...
research including algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
-derived biofuels through its partnership with Solix, household energy research involving cookstoves through its partnership with Envirofit International, as well as distributed power
Distributed power
In rail transport distributed power refers to the placing of additional locomotives at intermediate points in the middle of the train, remotely controlled from the leading locomotive, to allow longer trains where operational considerations or economics require it. Distributed power thus describes...
and smart grid research through its partnership with Spirae and Integrid.