Energy, fuel, and automotive engineering
Find out how our solutions can advance your knowledge of batteries, fluid dynamics, fossil fuels, fuel cells, and lubricants
Want to know how our analysis methods can support your energy, fuel, and automotive engineering research? Whether you’re a student, a researcher, or a professor, we’ve put together links to examples of our solutions in batteries, fluid dynamics, fossil fuels, fuel cells, and lubricants.
The materials and analytical equipment involved overlap with applications in Chemistry and Applied Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and Geological Sciences, Minerals and Mining – so feel free to check those pages for more information! Method abbreviations are explained at the bottom of this page.
Batteries research
Battery technology is a ‘hot topic’ – and involves research in many areas. This research can cover everything from charge storage and transfer and the synthesis of new battery materials, to modeling and testing battery designs and processing and upscaling battery production. Below, we’ve put together a selection of typical examples of our battery research solutions for battery material measurement. Take a look to discover more!
Batteries Research | Method | Sample | Application Note Title (Link) |
|---|---|---|---|
Battery manufacture - particle size and shape | MDRS | Carbon electrode materials, binder | The impact of electrode particle size and shape on battery slurry viscosity |
Battery manufacture - particle size | LD | Carbon (milling) | |
Battery manufacture - particle size and shape | MDRS | Graphite particles | The Influence of Particle Shape on the Characteristics of Coating Films for Battery Electrodes |
Battery manufacture - particle size and shape | MDRS | Graphite | Exploring the effect of carbon microstructure on lithium-ion battery performance |
Battery materials - particle size analysis | LD | Lithium cobalt oxide and lithium-ion phosphate, Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD), | Characterization of Battery Materials using Laser Diffraction Particle Size Analysis |
Battery technology - overview | various | The role of analytical technologies in optimizing lithium-ion battery materials | Analytical toolkit for the optimization of battery electrode materials - whitepaper |
Battery technology - battery integrity | XRD-CT | Zn-MnO2 alkaline batteries | |
Battery technology – in-operando crystal phase analysis | XRD | Batteries in pouch cells. LiNMC coated on Al (cathode), graphite coated on Cu | High-quality in operando X-ray diffraction analysis of pouch bag lithium-ion batteries |
Fluid dynamics
Several areas of engineering involve studying fluids and sprays – for instance, gas and liquid injection are important features of engine design. Our droplet size analysis instruments can be used to test features such as nozzle design. Find out more below!
Fluid Dynamics | Method | Sample | Application Note Title (Link) |
|---|---|---|---|
Fuel Injectors - droplet size | LD | Fuel sprays from different injectors | Characterization of fuel injectors using high speed laser diffraction droplet size measurements |
Fossil fuels
As we navigate the transition away from fossil fuels, researchers are continuously exploring ways to use and re-use them more effectively. This can cover areas including:
- Power engineering
- Automotive engineering
- Chemical and petrochemical engineering
- Chemistry
- Recycling
- Environment
- Mining
- Minerals engineering
We’ve put together a few application examples of our fossil fuel research solutions – take a look to learn more!
Fossil Fuels | Method | Sample | Application Note Title (Link) |
|---|---|---|---|
Biodiesel blends - concentration | UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR | Biodiesel-diesel blends: Methyl esters of five different oils — soybean oil, canola oil, palm oil, waste cooling oil, and coconut oil, highway and off-road diesels | |
Biofuel - elemental composition | XRF | Waste | Analysis of a wide range of alternative fuel materials using a single calibration method |
Biofuels, mixtures - trace elements | XRF | Sulfur in fuels, biofuels, and mixtures | |
Catalytic cracking - residual elements | XRF | Cl in fresh, regenerated, and spent alumina- supported catalysts | |
Catalytic cracking - sample preparation | SPE | Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Catalysts - residue in petroleum: Ni, Va, Si, Al, Na, Ca, | |
Coal - phase identification and quantification | XRD-C | Quartz(SiO2), kaolinite(Al2Si2O5(OH)4), calcite(CaCO3), dolomite(CaMg(CO3)2, Siderite(FeCO3), anatase(TiO2) | |
Coal - sample preparation for ICP | SPE | Coal, Coal Ash, Coal Fly Ash | Characterization of Coal, Coal Ash and Coal Fly Ash using Borate Fusion for ICP Analysis |
Coal - elemental analysis | XRF | Na2O, MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, P2O5, S, K2O, CaO, TiO2, MnO, Fe2O3, SrO, and BaO in unashed coal samples | Analysis of inorganic major and minor compounds in un-ashed coal samples prepared as pressed powder |
Diesel - trace elements | XRF | Silicon (Si), Sulphur (S), and Chlorine (Cl) in diesel | |
Gasoline - lead content | XRF | Lead in Gasoline | Zetium - Analysis of low concentrations of lead in gasoline according to ASTM D5059-07 test method C |
Gasoline - nanobubbles | NTA | Hydrogen nanobubbles in gasoline | Nanobubble Applications and Characterization by Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis |
Gasoline - trace elements | XRF | Phosphorous in fuels | |
Gasoline and diesel – Low-level sulfur content | XRF | Sulfur, petroleum | Analysis of low-level sulfur in petroleum products in accordance with ISO 20884:11 and ASTM D2622-10 |
Gasoline and diesel - sulfur content | XRF | Sulfur in car fuels |
Fuel cells
Fuel cell technology is a growing area. Lots of the current research around fuel cell materials lies within Inorganic Chemistry, so check out that page for more application examples. Otherwise, enjoy exploring the information on our fuel cell research solutions below!
Fuel Cells | Method | Sample | Application Note Title (Link) |
|---|---|---|---|
Hydrogen storage materials - performance | XRD-C | Lanthanum pentanickel (LaNi5), Ammonia borane (NH3BH3) | High-pressure and high-temperature studies of hydrogen storage materials |
Catalytic Ink for electrodes – crystallographic structure, particle size and agglomeration | XRD-C, LD, DLS, ELS | Pt nano particles supported in Carbon particles and agglomerates | Analysis of Catalytic Ink for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC’s) |
Lubricants
The study of lubricants is important for automotive engineering, chemical and petrochemical engineering, chemistry, recycling, and the environment. For instance, studying used lubricants can be a diagnostic for wear in machine parts. Below, we’ve collected a few examples of how our analytical solutions can support lubricant research. Check them out to discover more!
Lubricants Research | Method | Sample | Application Note Title (Link) |
|---|---|---|---|
Lubricants - wear metals content | XRF | Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sn, Ba, and Pb in unused and used lubricating oils | |
Lubricants- additives and wear metals content | XRF | Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sn, Ba, and Pb in unused and used lubricating oils | Analysis of additives and wear metals in used lubricating oils using Oil-Trace |
Lubricants - additives content | XRF | Mg, P, S, Cl, Ca, Cu, Zn, and Ba in unused lubricating oil | Analysis of additives in unused lubricating oils according to ASTM D4927-10 and ASTM D6443-04 (2010) |
Automotive oils - identification | XRF | Lubricating oils | |
Automotive oils - recycling | XRF | S, Cl in waste oil | Analysis of S and CI in waste oil using an Ag-anode X-ray tube |
Oils - base fluids | GPC | Polyalfaolefins (PAO), (PAO6, PAO40, PAO100) in THF | Comparing multi-detector GPC and APC for polyalphaolefin analysis |
Abbreviations explained
Our products and technologies are described on the Products pages. Below you can find a quick reference to the properties measured by our instruments, together with the measurement name and its abbreviation. Click on each method to find out more about it!
Abbreviation | Method Name | Instrument(s) | Measured Property |
|---|---|---|---|
DLS | Zetasizer | Molecular size, hydrodynamic radius RH, particle size, size distribution, stability, concentration, agglomeration | |
ELS | Zetasizer | Zeta potential, particle charge, suspension stability, protein mobility | |
ITC | MicroCal ITC | Binding affinity, thermodynamics of molecular reactions in solution | |
DSC | Microcal DSC | Denaturing (unfolding) of large molecules, stability of macromolecules | |
IMG | Morphologi 4
| Imaging of particles, automated shape and size measurement
| |
MDRS | Morphologi 4-ID | Imaging of particles, automated shape and size measurement, chemical identification and contaminant detection | |
LD | Mastersizer Spraytec Insitec Parsum | Particle size, size distribution | |
NTA | NanoSight | Particle size, size distribution, and concentration | |
SEC or GPC | OMNISEC | Molecular size, molecular weight, oligomeric state, polymer or protein size and molecular structure | |
SPE | Le Neo LeDoser Eagon 2 The OxAdvanced M4 rFusion | Fused Bead Sample preparation for XRF, Peroxide solution preparations for ICP, Flux weighing for beadmaking | |
UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR | Ultra-violet / visible / near infra-red / short wave infra-red spectrometry | LabSpec FieldSpec TerraSpec QualitySpec | Material identification and analysis, moisture, mineral, carbon content. Ground truthing for airborne and satellite spectroscopic techniques. |
PFTNA | CNA | In-line elemental analysis | |
XRD-C | Aeris Empyrean | Molecular crystal structure refinement, crystalline phase identification and quantification, crystalline to amorphous ratio, crystallite size analysis | |
XRD-M | Empyrean X’Pert3 MRD(XL) | Residual stress, texture | |
XRD-CT | Empyrean | 3D imaging of solids, porosity, and density | |
SAXS | Empyrean | Nanoparticles, size, shape and structure | |
GISAXS | Empyrean | Nanostructured thin films and surfaces | |
HR-XRD | Empyrean X’Pert3 MRD(XL) | Thin-films and epitaxial multilayers, composition, strain, thickness, quality | |
XRR | Empyrean X’Pert3 MRD(XL) | Thin films and surfaces, film thickness, surface and interface roughness | |
XRF | Epsilon Zetium Axios FAST 2830 ZT | Elemental composition, elemental concentration, trace elements, contaminant detection |
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