The Ben Emerson Research Group (BERG) is focused on advancing combustor technology for ground power and aviation propulsion. Tomorrow's combustors require elevated compressor discharge conditions for improved efficiency. Tomorrow's world demands extreme fuel flexibility. We are re-architecting the combustor of the future for new injection strategies, new fuels, and improved thermal management. Today the BERG is conducting research in reacting fluid dynamics to advance our understanding of several exciting topics:
- Hydrodynamic stability of reacting flow fields
- Thermoacoustics (combustion instability/combustion dynamics)
- Primary breakup and atomization at supercritical conditions
- Reacting jets in crossflow
- Hydrogen co-firing
- Instrumentation and digital twin for thermal management at harsh conditions
The outcome of this research promotes:
- Fuel flexibility
- Sustainability and energy dominance
- Environmental performance
- Combustor durability
- New propulsion concepts
Select Images and Examples
Industry partnerships. Industry partnerships are an essential part of our research. Here, the team attends the 2025 Pratt & Whitney combustion center of excellence meeting along with other Georgia Tech collaborators.
Acoustically Forced Reacting Jet in Crossflow Experiment. Contributing to thermoacoustic instability research in the context of new injection strategies. This experiment was designed and built by Sam Stoknes and is the subject of his PhD work.
Hydrogen Oven. Nick McFadden leverages the group's experience with alternative fuels to develop a hydrogen-fired poultry oven, delivering a cooking environment with augmented moisture and convective heat transfer.