Levendis Selected as AIAA Associate Fellow
Yiannis Levendis, Distinguished Professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, was selected as a member of the Class of 2023 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Associate Fellows for his technical contributions to fuel combustion physics, chemistry, and diagnostics, and for educating engineering students in the fields of gas turbine combustion and air pollution.
Levendis has contributed to the understanding of the physics and chemistry of fuel combustion, reforming, pyrolysis and gasification through experimentation, diagnostics and modelling. He has also extensively investigated the formation of air pollutants and their control and has contributed to novel combustion-based solutions to global climate change abatement, as well as to fire suppression. A number of his scientific investigations have direct relation to aerospace applications. Below is partial list of his undertakings.
- Research on combustion characteristics and performance of gaseous fuels (natural gas, ethylene, propane, propylene, syngas) with diluents. Impact in gas turbine and refrigeration fields.
- Research on combustion characteristics and emissions of liquid fuels (kerosine, gasoline, diesel, alcohols). Impact on gas turbine and aerospace fields.
- Research on combustion characteristics and performance of solid fuels (coal, biomass, rubber, plastics). Impact on combined cycle powerplants.
- Assessment of combustions products of all aforementioned fuels (CO, UHC, PAH, soot, NOx, HCl, and trace pollutants). Impact on reduction of air pollutants from combustion souces.
- Assessment of mechanisms of formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), soot and NOx from the aforesaid fuels and from JP-8 military aircraft fuel. Impact on gas turbines.
- Research on combustion characteristics and byproducts of cyclic metal-based fuel propellants.
- Research on oxy-fuel combustion technologies for zero emissions. Impact on reduction of global warming.
- Assessment of the combustion characteristics of tire-derived fuel from waste automobile and airplane tires; development of methods for minimizing the emissions therefrom. Impact on environmental pollution.
- Methods for control of hazardous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) emissions and soot.
- Acid rain prevention by minimization of SO2, NOx and HCl from the combustion of fuels.
- Combustion-based conversion of waste plastics and waste tires to value-added products such as multiwall carbon nanotubes and gaseous fuels. Impact on various applications, including aerospace.
- Generation of carbonaceous nanotubes (CNTs) and activated carbons from waste plastics and waste tires, including those from aviation industries. Impact of CNTs on various aerospace applications (lightening airframes, lightning protection, more efficient propulsion systems, stealth improvement, etc.).
- Development of fire protection systems for critical infrastructures, such as airplane/helicopter hangars. Impact on aerospace applications.
- Development of a technology for fire mitigation in applications including airport tarmacs.
- Development of a combustion-based technology to generate magnetic nanoparticles of iron oxides for applications including aerospace.
Levendis developed a course on Gas Turbine Combustion and taught it to Graduate students for 25 years. He also developed courses in Combustion and Air Pollution and taught them for 34 years.