Semester of Graduation
Summer 2026
Degree
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
This thesis presents the development and experimental validation of a platform for externally heated micro-combustion with integrated thin-filament pyrometry (TFP) capability. The work was motivated by the growing need for controlled, small-scale experimental systems capable of investigating combustion dynamics relevant to new fuel research. The platform incorporates sev- eral design improvements over prior micro-combustor configurations, including the adoption of a 14 μm silicon carbide (SiC) filament in place of a larger predecessor, an enhanced filament po- sitioning system, and a unified optical setup enabling both chemiluminescence imaging and TFP through a single monochrome camera with interchangeable optical filters.
The micro-combustor was successfully operated using ethane fuel across a range of conditions: standard atmospheric conditions (1 bar, 21 % O2), oxygen-diluted environments (1 bar, 12.37 % O2), and elevated pressures (2 bar and 8 bar). Stable combustion and successful image acquisition were demonstrated in all primary test cases, except for 8 bar, with observed flame behavior con- sistent with classical micro-combustion regimes including strong-flame, Flames with Repetitive Extinction and Ignition (FREI), and weak-flame modes.
A central objective of this work was assessing the intrusiveness of the TFP diagnostic. Quanti- tative analysis of flame position metrics showed that the 14 μm filament introduced negligible axial flame displacement (below ∼0.5 mm), with variation comparable to experimental uncertainty. By contrast, a 76 μm filament produced systematic displacements of 4 −5 mm in the FREI regime, demonstrating that filament diameter governs the degree of flow and thermal perturbation. Sensi- tivity to filament positioning was also characterized, showing that even small misalignments can influence measured flame structure, particularly in distributed combustion regimes. Collectively, these results confirm that the 14 μm SiC filament constitutes a minimally intrusive diagnostic tool, and that the developed platform provides a reliable, flexible foundation for future quantitative micro-combustion studies involving new fuels and advanced post-processing techniques.
Date
5-16-2026
Recommended Citation
Bon-Mardion, Joseph, "DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION OF AN EXPERIMENTAL PLATFORM FOR EXTERNALLY HEATED MICRO-COMBUSTION USING THIN-FILAMENT PYROMETRY" (2026). LSU Master's Theses. 6398.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/6398
Committee Chair
Ingmar Schoegl
LSU Acknowledgement
1
LSU Accessibility Acknowledgment
1
Updated Thesis Approval Form