Argonne Researcher Honored for Career in Engine Research

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) honored Argonne’s Ramanujam (Raj) Sekar by elevating his membership to the status of a Fellow, in recognition of his many “significant engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession” over a career spanning more than 33 years. Sekar manages the Engine and Emissions Research Group at Argonne’s Transportation Technology R&D Center.

Engine Research

The achievements in engine research that the society specifically mentioned in its citation were his involvement in heat exchanger development at Cummins Engine Company at a time when intercoolers were becoming standard equipment in diesel engines and his participation in the early development of a daring new concept called the adiabatic diesel engine. But for Sekar, his greatest achievements have come while at Argonne and include the establishment of the Engine and Emissions Research Group. When he joined Argonne 18 years ago, Sekar effectively was the Engine and Emissions Research Group. Now this renowned unit includes nine professional researchers and three technicians and has an annual budget of about $4 million. Primary support for Sekar’s research at Argonne has been a number of transportation projects now under the current Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies within Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy.

The test facilities and programs Sekar has established at Argonne are testament to his wide-ranging research interests. Argonne now boasts a locomotive engine test facility fully funded by the Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of General Motors and automotive test facilities for compression-ignition direct-injection (CIDI) diesel engines made by Caterpillar and other manufacturers. The investment by EMD at Argonne is perhaps the largest totally private investment in any of the DOE laboratories in the engine research field. Because fuel injection is central to the operation of diesel engines, Sekar also initiated an innovative fuel-spray research program at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). The idea is to use powerful x-rays from the APS to penetrate and quantitatively map fuel-spray development over time, thereby providing an unprecedented look into the operation of diesel fuel-injection systems. This ambitious program has made Argonne uniquely qualified to conduct fuel-injection research.

The success of the fuel-spray program has sparked Sekar’s interest in developing an x-ray engine test facility at the APS to provide fundamental insights into the operation of diesel engines. As with the fuel-spray program, x-rays from the APS will permit scientists to see details of engine operation that cannot be viewed in any other way. Following Sekar’s lead, several Argonne divisions have become involved in this area of research. For example, Chemical Engineering (CMT) researchers are now studying soot formation inside diesel engine cylinders at the APS, and members of the Reactor Analysis group are using the data to build computer models of the process. In about a year, a surrogate engine, called a rapid compression machine, will be evaluated at the APS. The next step will be to put a real diesel engine in the APS and study its operation while running.

Awards

Sekar’s highly focused and inspired long-range vision for engine research has resulted in many awards and groundbreaking innovations, such as the use of gas separation membranes in diesels, which won a coveted R&D 100 Award in 1999. The fuel-spray program has also won recognition, in the form of a 2002 National Laboratory Combustion and Emissions Control R&D Award. Sekar has also received two Laboratory Director’s Awards for exceptional performance, an Achievement Recognition Award from EMD, an Energy Systems Division Director's Award for sustained accomplishment and consistently high performance, a Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer, and two ASME Internal Combustion Engine Division Awards for worthy contributions and loyal service. Sekar’s innovations have also led to seven engine-related patents.

Research Partners

Given this track record, it’s not surprising that the list of industrial partners that Sekar has worked with over the years reads like a Who’s Who of diesel equipment manufacturers. Included are EMD, Robert Bosch Corp., Detroit Diesel Corp., Mack Trucks, Inc., Caterpillar, Inc., and DaimlerChrysler. His research group also works with small companies, such as Compact Membrane Systems, which is a spin-off company having roots at DuPont. Major U.S. universities have also sought collaborations with his research group, as have researchers at other DOE national laboratories.