ICE age: For Team Assanis, what’s old is new
Dimitris Assanis can’t slow down.
As an assistant professor of mechanical engineering in Stony Brook University’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) and a key contributor to the university’s Engine Combustion Research Group, Dr. Assanis – who earned his PhD in mechanical engineering in 2016 from the University of Michigan – spends his days maximizing power generation and propulsion in internal combustion engines (ICE).
As a frontline innovator, though, he eschews traditional ICE fuels (no gasoline here) and focuses instead on cleaner alternatives – thermochemical electricity, for instance.
His goal is reduced carbon emissions in a world where automobiles, whether driven by humans or computers, will remain ground-transportation mainstays for centuries to come. When Dr. Assanis fires up new and improved combustion modes, he really isn’t “hitting the gas,” but he is accelerating the development of smarter, cleaner engines – including motors for new generations of automated vehicles.
The researcher’s work has attracted the attention of Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the federal agency in charge of developing new energy technologies. ARPA-E has funded Dr. Assanis to work on INTEGRATE, a hybrid electrochemistry venture otherwise known as Innovative Natural Gas Technologies for Efficiency Gain in Reliable and Affordable Thermochemical Electricity Generation project, which pursues the ecological, economical goal of natural gas-fueled, ultra-efficient electrical-generation systems.
He doesn’t face this challenge alone. His collaborators include several eager PhD candidates on his research team who are learning from the CEAS professor’s deep knowledge of ICE systems and helping him push the science past new boundaries.
Among them is student researcher Ruinan Yang, who’s aided the ARPA-E effort by managing control and data-acquisition functions during “diesel hydra engine” experiments, designed to test an advanced low-temperature combustion strategy.
The experiments, according to Yang, proved that dual-fuel combustion “could be considered as a potential fuel strategy,” a significant step for the Engine Combustion Research Group.
Also getting in on the ARPA-E action is PhD candidate Rodrigo Ristow Hadlich, who’s enjoyed a crash course in laboratory experimentation – Dr. Assanis is a pro, he notes – plus firsthand experience with the TSI NanoScan 3910, a cutting-edge device designed to measure the distribution of particles in exhaust gases.
That’s huge when it comes to analyzing soot emissions, also firmly in the research group’s wheelhouse. And with his mentor showing him the ropes in their Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC) laboratory, the protégé has been able to further the research and innovation agenda.
“Dr. Assanis has proven to be very knowledgeable in the laboratory setting and has provided guidance on how to improve our experimental setups,” Hadlich says.
Student researcher Zhongnan Ran gets deep into next-generation ICE mechanics – solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and experimental spark-ignited engines – as part of his INTEGRATE contributions, which have helped determine that a future filled with advanced power and propulsion systems still has room for old-fashioned ICEs.
“Most importantly, it has demonstrated that an internal combustion engine can be placed downstream of a SOFC to generate additional power … and improve the overall system efficiency, while emitting ultra-low levels of exhaust emissions,” Ran says.
New perceptions like that are only possible because of Dr. Assanis’ intense focus, according to his students, who note his personal devotion to both the science and their individual achievements.
“He has proven to be very determined in making sure we … succeed in our research,” Hadlich says. “And also that we do not have any problems with school bureaucracy, especially as international students.”
“He dedicates himself to his job and students and always works hard,” adds Yang. “He helps me a lot on my research, publication(s) and career, and I really appreciate him.”
Working on the SBU campus, and particularly in the AERTC, isn’t too shabby, either. The Advanced Energy Center is “a great place for conducting research activities,” according to Ran, who applauds the center’s copious technological resources and the opportunity “to make contact and collaborate with other research groups and scientists.”
“Without a spacious and well-ventilated facility,” adds Hadlich, “we would not be able to properly explore advanced combustion technologies as we do [at the AERTC].”
Of course, even the most advanced laboratories – and the smartest students – need a master at the controls, and in Dr. Assanis, the Engine Combustion Research Group has that precisely.
“He is a very knowledgeable and hardworking scientist,” Ran says. “His door is always open for me, whenever there are questions [about] conducting research.
“He is also an excellent advisor, both academically and personally.”