High-speed cameras show that vortices generated in turbulent fluids are more predictable and less chaotic than expected.

Automated system could be used to spot toxic emissions, air pollutants or diagnostic biomarkers.

A better understanding of the dynamics of large water droplets falling into water has potential applications from fuel injection systems to climate models.

Chemical model could help to produce clean fuel from natural gas contaminant.

Complex patterns of motion emerge when water drops condense on an oiled surface.

Air cavities forming around skipping buoyant objects could help reduce drag and enhance underwater maneuverability.

High-pressure experiments show the way to selectively recycle the greenhouse gas into a particular product.

Weather variability and extreme events affect the optimal design and operation of renewable energy systems, particularly for striking a trade off between life cycle cost and carbon dioxide emissions.

A drop of water is completely removed from a surface when a deformable sphere falls on it.

Using ammonia as a hydrogen-rich energy source requires technology that can spot pollutants in flames.

Resonating silicon microbeams sense temperature shifts induced by airborne molecules.

A universal mechanism could explain the formation of carbon nanoparticles in interstellar and terrestrial environments.

Clean and sustainable fuels could be derived by combining ammonia with complementary combustion-modifying additives.

Damage-causing bubbles might form at much lower impact velocities than expected.

Unusual reaction pathways to hydrocarbon clusters could bring a paradigm shift to the understanding of soot and interstellar chemistry.

Incorporating regular cracks in electrodes for wireless strain sensors brings surprisingly better sensitivity. 

The intense sparks that occasionally accompany charged sandstorms can arise from turbulent movements of airborne dust.

Shower spray is like water off a duck’s back to bathroom flies.

A highly selective and sensitive laser sensor can pick up low-level benzene emissions in ambient air.

Improved imaging of liquid jet sprays can impact fields ranging from inkjet printing to oil and gas processing.

Plasma technology could help the petrochemical industry transition to an electrified, decarbonized future.

Collisions of tiny air bubbles with water surfaces can reveal fundamental characteristics of foamy mixtures.

Predictions reveal how pressure and temperature fluctuations in engine cylinders can suppress damaging fuel combustion events.

Advanced modes of combustion that are controlled by plasma discharges could become key components of the circular carbon economy.

Modeling the combustion properties of gasoline is driving the search for cleaner fuels.

Variations in the vibrations of beams of silicon create a sensitive way of measuring pressure changes.

Studying the wake of reflected shockwaves reveals the cascade of chemical reactions involved in combustion processes.

Ultrapure solvents prove there is more than meets the eye when oil and water mix.

Predicting capricious pre-ignition combustion events could enable automakers to build powerful yet more efficient engines.

Rapid-fire photography reveals how even a nanoscale amount of surface roughness can unleash microbubbles that may interfere with coating technology.

Flexible skin for soft robots, embedded with electrical nanowires, combines conductivity with sensitivity within the same material.

Ultrafast video capture of droplet cloud formation should help minimize the risk of gas-leak explosions.

A compound made from the glycerol by-product of biodiesel production could promote cleaner burning in vehicle engines.

Understanding the effect pressure has on soot production during fuel combustion could help reduce polluting emissions.

A numerical study reveals how to reduce instabilities in the complex flow of plasma in converging geometry of particles in fusion reactions.

Computer analysis aids the formulation of methanol-based renewable fuels that can operate under compression ignition conditions.

Ethanol and related gasoline replacement fuels produce fewer smog-causing chemicals.

Understanding the response of gas flames to acoustic perturbations at high pressure should make next-generation turbines safer and more efficient.

Spotting signatures of potential pollutants made easier with quantum lasers that emit tunable infrared light.

A technique modeling the combustion characteristics of gasoline blended with biofuels for cleaner and more efficient fuels.

Theoretical simulations reveal how subtle changes in friction on an object’s surface can have a large effect on drag.

Creating teardrop-like gas cavities around metal spheres enables practically friction-free travel through liquids.

Silicon microelectronics and biomedical fields could benefit from a safe and cost-effective way to synthesize nanoparticles.

Simple two-component mixtures are good surrogates for studying the ignition properties of next-generation gasolines.

A vibration-driven logic gate could form the basis for the next generation of efficient, low-power computers.

Insight into the thermal decomposition of a potential fuel additive shows it could promote cleaner and more efficient combustion.

New 3D visualizations that reveal how flames respond to electric fields could help improve combustion efficiency and reduce pollution.

Smartphones put state-of-the-art 3D particle tracking in the hands of the masses.

Data from a global oceanographic expedition predict how rising temperatures influence increase in plankton populations.

A flexible, carbon-based device that responds to humidity in two ways can sense 3D objects without touching them.

Plunging hot spheres into viscous liquids reveals a way to reduce fluid resistance without complex engineering procedures.

The characterization of compounds produced in combustion could lead to cleaner, more efficient power stations.

New technique lays the foundation for greener transport fuels and next-generation engines.    

Images of from a high-speed camera reveal a microbead formation process during the vapor explosion of liquid metal dropping into a pool of water.

A clearer understanding of how flame is affected by electric fields paves the way for advanced electrically assisted combustion technology.

Smart threads can be woven into pressure-sensitive electronic skin for robots or medical prosthetics.

 A novel logic gate allows for added electronic functionality.

A complex computational model provides a more accurate description of soot formation.

A simulation scheme for aerodynamic turbulence could replace expensive wind tunnel tests.

Ultrafast imaging reveals the influence of even ultrasmall surface roughness on inkjet printing.

Precise rate constants could provide high-fidelity combustion models for cleaner and more efficient fuels.

Experimental and numerical studies reveal the combustion properties of blended fuels at elevated pressures.

Capturing the hidden details of coalescence cascades that connect bubbles and droplets may improve oil extraction practices. 

Metallic nanostructures absorb light better than any other known structures.

Environmentally friendly butanol additives improve gasoline performance in spark ignition engines.

Ultrafast cameras spy surprising air-trapping effects intrinsic to droplet-based technologies such as inkjet printing.

High-speed imaging of perfect ice spheres free-falling in water reveals surprising insights into drag reduction.

Stable air layers that wrap around liquid drops can retain their remarkable geometries a thousand times longer than theory predicts.

Simulations show that an actuated jet of air from the wing can dramatically improve the aerodynamic performance of micro-aircraft such as drones.

Simulations reveal the final moments of a fuel droplet as it combusts in a spray injection engine.

KAUST’s Clean Combustion Research Center aims to develop technologies for future fuel formulations, more efficient engines, and new methods for power generation.