The world must shift away from fossil fuels to reduce our impact on the planet. We need new engine technologies that increase fuel efficiency, reducing fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, and ultimately to switch our engines to use clean fuels. Australia’s fuel security will depend on our ability to harness wind and solar energy to produce clean fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen and then efficiently use them in engines, requiring a precise mix of air and fuel at the right temperature and pressure.
A/Prof Salehi’s research focuses on the combustion of new fuels: how we can use them safely and burn them efficiently to maximise power while minimising emissions.
Using computational fluid dynamics techniques and machine learning algorithms, her team has developed predictive models that will help to develop new combustor designs for the transition from imported fossil fuels to locally produced carbon-free fuels.