Reacting Flow Research Laboratory

Welcome to Dr. Kong's research group!

Our research includes two main areas – engine spray combustion and biomass thermochemical conversion. The common theme of these two research areas is that both involve multiphase, chemically reacting flows. The common goal is to increase the energy efficiency and enable the use of biorenewable fuels. We develop high-fidelity computational models that can predict engine performance, fuel spray dynamics, spray combustion, biomass particle conversion in a pyrolysis reactor, and thermal spray-wall interactions for advanced manufacturing.

Faculty Member – Professor Song-Charng Kong

Dr. Kong joined Texas Tech University following his service at Iowa State University. His graduate training was on diesel engine combustion, including numerical modeling and in-cylinder flame imaging. In his professional career, he was a pioneer in integrating detailed chemistry solvers into engine CFD codes for engine combustion modeling. His diesel engine combustion models have been widely used in the industry for engine design and optimization. He also developed various evolutionary algorithms and machine learning methodologies to optimize engine performance. He extended his research to include biofuel production via the thermochemical pathways. He conducted research on a pilot-scale biomass gasification systems; he also developed computational models to simulate biomass fast pyrolysis.

At Texas Tech, Dr. Kong continues to conduct research in developing high-fidelity computational models to predict liquid spray behaviors, combustion system performance, and biomass thermochemical conversion. Applications and current research projects include fuel spray dynamics, spray-wall interactions, engine combustion optimization, unmanned aerial system propulsion for military application, thermal spray for manufacturing, and biomass particle fast pyrolysis.