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Robert W. Pitz

Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Chair of the Department

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Email: robert.w.pitz@vanderbilt.edu
Office: 104 OH
Phone: 615-322-0209
Fax: 615-343-6687
Research Interests

Laser diagnostics, flame chemistry, turbulent combustion, turbulence-chemistry interactions, pollutant formation, hypersonic propulsion, gas turbine combustion, direct injection gasoline engine and natural gas appliances, oxygen-enriched combustion; laminar and turbulent combustion; Raman scattering, laser-induced fluorescence, free-electron laser diagnostics; molecular-tagging velocimetry.


For a description of current research topics, go to the Laser Diagnostics of Combustion Lab homepage.

For more information, please see Dr. Pitz's CV.

Teaching Interests

Thermodynamics, Combustion, Gas Dynamics, Statistical Thermodynamics.

Education

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, 1973
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1975
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1981

Publications

D. M. Mosbacher, J. A. Wehrmeyer, R. W. Pitz, C. J. Sung, and J. L. Byrd, “Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Premixed Tubular Flames, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 29, 1479-1486, 2003.

H. S. Xue, S. K. Aggarwal, R. J. Osborne, T. M. Brown, and R. W. Pitz, “On the Comparison of Predicted and Measured Counterflow Partially Premixed Flame Structures: Assessment of Reaction Mechanisms,” AIAA J., 40, 1236-1238, 2002.

T. C. Cole, W. A. Cole, T. M. Brown, and R. W. Pitz, “Measurement of Smoke Concentration using Degenerate Four-Wave Mixing,” Measurement, Science and Technology, 13, 464-470, 2002.

J. A. Wehrmeyer, Z. Cheng, D. M. Mosbacher, R. W. Pitz, and R. J. Osborne, “Opposed Jet Flames of Near-Limit Premixed Propane-Air Reactants vs. Hot Products, Combustion and Flame, 128, 232-241, 2002.

L. A. Ribarov, J. A. Wehrmeyer, R. W. Pitz, and R. A. Yetter, “Hydroxyl Tagging Velocimetry (HTV) in Experimental Air Flows,” Applied Physics B, 74, 175-183, 2002.

R. W. Pitz, J. A. Wehrmeyer, L. A. Ribarov, D. A. Oguss, F. Batliwala, P. A. DeBarber, S. Deusch, and P. E. Dimotakis, “Unseeded Molecular Flow Tagging in Cold and Hot Flows Using Ozone and Hydroxyl Tagging Velocimetry, Measurement, Science and Technology, 11, 1259-1271, 2000.

J. A. Wehrmeyer, L. A. Ribarov, D. A. Oguss, and R. W. Pitz, “High Temperature Flow Tagging Velocimetry with 193 nm H2O Photodissociation,” Applied Optics, 38, pp. 6912-6917, 1999.

L. A. Ribarov, J. A. Wehrmeyer, F. Batliwala, R. W. Pitz, and P. A. DeBarber, “Ozone Tagging Velocimetry using Narrowband Excimer Lasers,” AIAA Journal, 37, pp. 708-714, 1999.

T. M. Brown, R. W. Pitz, and C. J. Sung, "Oscillating Stretch Effects on the Structure and Extinction of Counterflow Diffusion Flames" Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 27, pp. 703-710, 1998.

T. M. Brown, M. A. Tanoff, R. J. Osborne, R. W. Pitz, and M. D. Smooke, "Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Laminar Hydrogen-Air Counterflow Diffusion Flames," Combustion, Science and Technology, 129, pp. 71-88, 1997.

M. A. Tanoff, M. D. Smooke, R. J. Osborne, T. M. Brown, and R. W. Pitz, "The Sensitive Structure of Partially Premixed Methane-Air vs. Air Counterflow," Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 26, pp. 1121-1128, Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, 1996.

R. W. Pitz, T. M. Brown, S. P. Nandula, P. A. Skaggs, P. A. DeBarber, M. S. Brown, and J. Segall, "Unseeded Velocity Measurement by Ozone Tagging Velocimetry," Optics Letters, 21, pp. 755-757, 1996.
Best Paper in Engineering Award, Vanderbilt University, 1997.

D. Trees, T. M. Brown, M. D. Smooke, K. Seshadri, G. Balakrishnan, R. W. Pitz, V. Giovangigli, and S. P. Nandula, "The Structure of Nonpremixed H2/Air Flames," Combustion, Science and Technology, 104, pp. 427-439, 1995.

T. S. Cheng and R. W. Pitz, "Simultaneous Measurements of Conserved and Reactive Scalars in Turbulent Diffusion Flames for Assessment of PDF Models," Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 25, pp. 1133-1139, 1994.

S. P. Nandula, T. M. Brown, and R. W. Pitz, "Measurements of Scalar Dissipation in the Reaction Zones of Turbulent Nonpremixed H2-Air Flames," Combustion and Flame, 99, pp. 775-783, 1994.

T. M. Brown, R. W. Pitz, C. F. Hess, and C. P. Wood, "Pulsed Photothermal Laser Deflection for Low-Level Smoke Measurements in Jet Engine Exhausts,” Applied Physics B, 59, pp. 351-356, 1994.

T. S. Cheng, J. A. Wehrmeyer, R. W. Pitz, O. Jarrett, Jr., and G. B. Northam, "Raman Measurement of Mixing and Finite-Rate Chemistry in a Supersonic Hydrogen-Air Diffusion Flame," Combustion and Flame, 99, pp. 157-173, 1994.

S. P. Nandula, T. M. Brown, R. W. Pitz, and P. A. DeBarber, "Single-Pulse, Simultaneous Multipoint Multispecies Raman Measurements in Turbulent Nonpremixed Jet Flames," Optics Letters, 19, pp. 414-416, 1994.

R. W. Pitz, T. S. Cheng, J. A. Wehrmeyer, and C. F. Hess, "Two-Photon Predissociative Fluorescence of H2O by a KrF Laser for Concentration and Temperature Measurement," Applied Physics B, 56, pp. 94-100, 1993.

T. S. Cheng, J. A. Wehrmeyer, and R. W. Pitz, "Simultaneous Temperature and Multi-Species Measurement in a Lifted Hydrogen Diffusion Flame," Combustion and Flame, 91, pp. 323-345, 1992.

R. Villaseñor, J.-Y. Chen and R. W. Pitz, "Interaction between Chemical Reaction and Turbulence in Supersonic Nonpremixed H2-Air Combustion,” AIAA Journal, 30, pp. 2552-2554, 1992.

J. A. Wehrmeyer, T. S. Cheng, and R. W. Pitz, "Temperature Measurement in Turbulent Flames by KrF Excimer-Induced Raman Scattering," Temperature, Its Measurement and Control in Science and Industry, vol. 6, J. F. Schooley, ed., American Institute of Physics, New York, pp. 695-700, 1992.

J. A. Wehrmeyer, T. S. Cheng, and R. W. Pitz, "Raman Scattering Measurements in Flames Using a Tunable KrF Laser," Applied Optics, 31, pp. 1495-1504, 1992.

R. Villaseñor, J.-Y. Chen, and R. W. Pitz, "Modeling Ideally Expanded Supersonic Turbulent Jet Flows with Nonpremixed H2-Air Combustion," AIAA Journal, 30, pp. 395-402, 1992.

R. W. Pitz, "Low-Level Smoke Emission Measurements from a Flame by Photothermal Deflection Spectroscopy," Applied Optics, 29, pp. 2418-2423, 1990.

R. W. Pitz, J. A. Wehrmeyer, J. M. Bowling, and T. S. Cheng, "Single-Pulse Vibrational Raman Scattering by a Broadband KrF Excimer Laser in a Hydrogen-Air Flame," Applied Optics, 29, pp. 2325-2332, 1990.

M. Lapp, M. C. Drake, C. M. Penney, R. W. Pitz, "Flame Images from Pointwise Raman Data," J. Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer, 40, pp. 363-368, 1988.

J. O. Keller, J. L. Ellzey, R. W. Pitz, I. G. Shepherd, and J. W. Daily, "The Structure and Dynamics of Reacting Plane Mixing Layers," Experiments in Fluids, 6, pp. 33-43, 1988.

R. W. Pitz, C. M. Penney, and M. Lapp, "Acoustically Modulated Optical Transmission For Low Level Gaseous Species Measurement," Applied Optics, 26, pp. 5272-5275, 1987.

M. C. Drake, S. M. Correa, R. W. Pitz, W. Shyy and C. P. Fenimore, "Superequilibrium and Thermal Nitric Oxide Formation in Turbulent Diffusion Flames," Combustion and Flame, 69, pp. 347-365, 1987.

M. C. Drake, R. W. Pitz and W. Shyy, "Conserved Scalar Probability Density Functions in a Turbulent Jet Diffusion Flame," Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 171, pp. 27-51, 1986.

M. C. Drake, R. W. Pitz and M. Lapp, "Laser Measurements on Nonpremixed H2-Air Flames for Assessment of Turbulent Combustion Models," AIAA Journal, 24, pp. 905-917, 1986.

R. W. Pitz and M. C. Drake, "Intermittency and Conditional Averaging in a Turbulent Nonpremixed Flame by Raman Scattering," AIAA J., 24, pp. 815-822, 1986.

M. C. Drake and R. W. Pitz, "Comparison of Turbulent Diffusion Flame Measurements of OH by Planar Fluorescence and Saturated Fluorescence," Experiments in Fluids, 3, pp. 283-292, 1985.

R. P. Lucht, D. W. Sweeney, N. M. Laurendeau, M. C. Drake, M. Lapp and R. W. Pitz, "Single Pulse, Laser-Saturated Fluorescence Measurements of OH in Turbulent Nonpremixed Flames," Optics Letters, 9, pp. 90-92, 1984.

M. C. Drake, R. W. Pitz, M. Lapp, C. P. Fenimore, R. P. Lucht, D. W. Sweeney and N. M. Laurendeau, "Measurements of Superequilibrium Hydroxyl Concentrations in Turbulent Nonpremixed Flames Using Saturated Fluorescence," Proceedings of the Combustion Institute,
20, pp. 327-335, 1984.

M. C. Drake, R. W. Pitz, S. M. Correa and M. Lapp, "Nitric Oxide Formation from Thermal and Fuel-Bound Nitrogen Sources in a Turbulent Nonpremixed Syngas Flame," Proceedings of the
Combustion Institute, 20, pp. 1983-1990, 1984.

S. M. Correa, M. C. Drake, R. W. Pitz and W. Shyy, "Prediction and Measurement of a Non- Equilibrium Turbulent Diffusion Flame," Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 20, pp. 337-343, 1984.

G. Kychakoff, R. D. Howe, R. K. Hanson, M. C. Drake, R. W. Pitz, M. Lapp and C. M. Penney, "Visualization of Turbulent Flame Fronts with Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence," Cover Article, Science, 224, pp.382-384, 1984.

R. W. Pitz and J. W. Daily, "Combustion in a Turbulent Mixing Layer Formed at a Rearward-Facing Step," AIAA Journal, 21, pp. 1565-1570, 1983.

R. W. Pitz, R. Cattolica, F. Robben, and L. Talbot, "Temperature and Density in a Hydrogen-Air Flame From Rayleigh Scattering," Combustion and Flame, 27, pp. 313-320, 1976.

 

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