Nick G Glumac

For More Information

• Combustion Diagnostics Lab
• Research Website

Education

• Ph.D. ME California Institute of Technology 06/94
• M.S. Aeronautics California Institute of Technology 06/90
• B.S. ME University of California, Santa Barbara 06/89

Academic Positions

• Professor, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, UIUC, August 16, 2007-date
• Cannon Faculty Scholar, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, UIUC, 2003-present
• Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, UIUC, June 21, 2000-2007
• Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, June 1999-November 1999
• Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, Sept. 1994-June 1999

Major Consulting Activities

• Packer Engineering, Inc., Naperville, IL
• Blacklight Power, Inc., Cranbury, NJ
• Reynolds Systems Industries, Tracy, CA

Research Statement

Professor Glumac studies the combustion synthesis of materials, combustion diagnostics, catalysis and catalytic combustion, chemical vapor deposition and reactive flow modeling.

His current research focuses on metal combustion as it relates to the military and aerospace industries. He and MechSE colleague Herman Krier are working together to develop a better understanding of how aluminum burns. (Aluminum constitutes about 20 percent of the fuel in solid rocket engines used on the Space Shuttle.) They are also investigating aluminum hydride, an alternative to aluminum that may produce better range and performance, but may also have undesirable features.

His research on metal combustion makes use of the shock tube facility developed by Professor Krier and Professor Rodney Burton of the Department of Aerospace Engineering. The shock tube provides the only way to conduct controlled experiments with metal particles, experiments that previously were not possible. Using the shock tube facility, Professors Glumac and Krier are able to test the validity of existing hypotheses about metal combustion. One theory suggested that aluminum always burns faster in water vapor than in carbon dioxide. The controlled environment of the shock tube provided a way for them to test this theory by directly comparing oxidation rates of aluminum in water vapor, carbon dioxide and oxygen. They learned that carbon dioxide is an increasingly important oxidizer for aluminum, particularly with small particle diameters. Another theory predicted that at small particle sizes, aluminum converts from diffusion limited combustion to kinetic limited combustion. The particle size at which that transition occurs had been unknown until experiments by Professors Glumac and Krier revealed that diffusion limited combustion begins to break down at particle sizes of 10 microns and smaller.

In the area of defense, Professor Glumac is testing new materials for thermobaric explosives, which have a high energy release but are less polluting than traditional explosives.

Research Interests

• Thermophysics of reactive materials
• Metal combustion
• Combustion diagnostics

Selected Articles in Journals

• Lynch, P.T., H. Krier, and N. G. Glumac, "Micro-alumina Particle Volatilization Temperature Measurements in a Heterogeneous Shock Tube," Combustion and Flame, 159:2, 793-801, 2012.
• Glumac, N.G., W. Jarrel, and W. K. Dong, "Quantitative Analysis of Soil Carbon using Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy: An Improved Method," Soil Science Society of America Journal, 74:4, 1922-1928 Nov-Dec 2010.
• Lazar, E., G. Elliott, and N. Glumac, "Energy Deposition Applied to a Transverse Jet in a Supersonic Crossflow," AIAA JOURNAL, 48:8, 1662-1672, August 2010.
• Sharma, M., J. M. Austin, N. G. Glumac, and L. Massa, "NO and OH Spectroscopic Vibrational Temperature Measurements in a Postshock Relaxation Region," AIAA Journal, 48:7, 1434-1443, 2010.
• Bazyn, T., P. Lynch, H. Krier, and N. Glumac, “Combustion Measurements of Fuel Rich Aluminum and Molybdenum Oxide Nano Composite Mixtures,” Propellants, Explosives, and Pyrotechnics, 35:2, 93-99, 2010.
• Lynch, P.T., H. Krier, and N. G. Glumac, "Emissivity of Aluminum Oxide Particle Clouds: Application to Pyrometry of Explosive Fireballs," Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer 24,301-308, 2010.
• Lynch, P.T., G. Fiore, H. Krier, and N. G. Glumac, "Gas-phase Reaction in Nano-aluminum Combustion," Combustion Science and Technology, 82:7, 842-857, 2010.
• Bill, R., J. Felts, B. Fant, H. Krier, and N. Glumac, "An Experimental Study of the Reaction of Aluminum and Water in Underwater Shaped Charges," Journal of Propulsion and Energetics, Vol. 3, p. 21, 2010.
• Lynch, P., H. Krier, and N. Glumac, "A Correlation for Burn Time of Aluminum Particles in the Transition Regime," Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 32, 1887-1893, 2009.
• Xu, H., N.G. Glumac, and K.S. Suslick, "Temperature Inhomogeneity during Multibubble Sonoluminescence," Angewandte Chemie, 48, 1-5, 2.
• Glumac, N., "Absorption Spectroscopy Measurements in Optically Dense Explosive Fireballs Using a Modeless Broadband Dye Laser," Applied Spectroscopy, 63:9, 1075-1080, 2009.
• Peuker, J. M., P. T. Lynch, N. Glumac, and H. Krier, “Optical Depth Measurements of Fireballs from Aluminized High Explosives,” Optics and Lasers in Engineering, 47:9, 1009-1015, 2009.
• Lazar, E., G. Elloitt, and N. Glumac, “Control of the Shear Layer Abover a Supersonic Cavity using Energy Deposition,” AIAA Journal, 46:12, 2987-2997, 2008.
• Shankar, N., N. G. Glumac, M.F. Yu, and S. P. Vanka, “Growth of Nanodiamond/Carbon-Nanotube Composites with Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition,” Diamond and Related Materials, 17, 79-83, 2008.
• Bazyn, T., H. Krier, N. Glumac, X. Wang, and T. L. Jackson, “Decomposition of Aluminum Hydride under Solid Rocket Motor Conditions,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, 23:2, 457-464, March-April 2007.
• Goroshin, S., J. Mamen, A. Higgins, T. Bazyn, N. Glumac, and H. Krier, “Emission Spectroscopy of Flame Fronts in Aluminum Suspensions,” Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 31, 2011-2019, 2007.
• Bazyn, T., N. Glumac, H. Krier, T. S. Ward, M. Schoenitz, and E. L. Dreizin, “Reflected Shock Ignition and Combustion of Aluminum and Nanocomposite Thermite Powders,” Combustion Science and Technology, 179, 457-476, 2007.
• Glumac, N. and G. Elliott, “The Effect of Ambient Pressure on Laser-Induced Plasmas in Air,” Lasers and Optics in Engineering, 45:1, 27-35, 2007.
• Bazyn, T., H. Krier, and N. Glumac, “Evidence for the Transition from the Diffusion-Limit in Aluminum Particle Combustion,” Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 31, 2921-2028, 2007.
• Shankar, N., M-F. Yu, S. P. Vanka, and N. Glumac, “Synthesis of Tungsten Oxide (WO3) Nanorods using Carbon Nanotubes as Templates by Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition," Materials Letters, 60:6, 771-774, 2006.
• Bazyn, T., N. Glumac, and H. Krier, “Study of the Combustion of Nano-Aluminum at Elevated Pressure and Temperature Behind Reflected Shock Waves,” Combustion and Flame, 145, 703-713, 2006.
• Glumac, N., “Aluminum Nitride Emission from a Laser-Induced Plasma in a Dispersed Aerosol,” Journal of Applied Physics, 98, 053301, 2005.
• Glumac, N., G. Elliott, and M. Boguszko, “Temporal and Spatial Evolution of the Thermal Structure of a Laser Spark in Air,” AIAA Journal, 43, 1984-1994, 2005.
• Lemke, B., C. Roodhouse, N. Glumac, and H. Krier, “Hydrogen Synthesis via Combustion of Fuel-Rich Natural Gas/Air Mixtures at Elevated Pressure,” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 30:8, 893-902, July 2005.
• Glumac, N., H. Krier, T. Bazyn, and R. Eyer, “Temperature Measurements of Aluminum Particles Burning in Carbon Dioxide,” Combustion Science and Technology, 177, 485-511, 2005.
• Bazyn, T., H. Krier, and N. Glumac, “Oxidizer and Pressure Effects on the Combustion of 10-micron Aluminum Particles,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, 21:4, 577-582, July/August 2005.
• Prakash, S., N. G. Glumac, N. Shankar, and M. A. Shannon, “OH Concentration Profiles over Alumina, Quartz, and Platinum Surfaces using Laser Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy in Low-Pressure Hydrogen/Oxygen Flames,” Combustion Science and Technology, 177:4, 793-817, 2005.
• Vanka, S. P., G. Luo, and N. G. Glumac, “Parametric Effects on Thin Film Growth and Uniformity in an Atmospheric Pressure Impinging Jet CVD Reactor,” Journal of Crystal Growth, 267, 22-34, 2004.
• Roy, S., J. DuBois, R. P. Lucht, and N. G. Glumac, “Hydroxyl Radical Concentration Measurements Near the Deposition Substrate in Low-pressure Diamond-forming Flames,” Combustion and Flame, 138, 285-294, 2004.
• Luo, G., S. P. Vanka, and N. Glumac, “Fluid Flow and Transport Processes in a Large Area Atmospheric Pressure Stagnation Flow CVD Reactor for Deposition of Thin Films,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 47, 4979-4994, 2004.
• Vanka, S. P., G. Luo, and N. G. Glumac, “Numerical Study of Mixed Convection Flow In An Impinging Jet CVD Reactor for Atmospheric Pressure Deposition of Thin Films,” ASME Journal of Heat Transfer – Transactions of the ASME, 126:5, 764-775, Oct. 2004.
• Bazyn, T., R. Eyer, H. Krier, and N. Glumac, “Combustion Characteristics of Aluminum Hydride at Elevated Pressure and Temperature,” Journal of Propulsion and Power, 20:3, 427-431, 2004.
• Bailey, S. and N. G. Glumac, “Laser-Induced-Fluorescence Detection of SnO in Low-Pressure Particle-Synthesis Flames,” Applied Physics B, 77, 455-461, 2003.
• Ogot, M., G. Elliott, and N. G. Glumac, “An Assessment of In-Person and Remotely Operated Laboratories,” Journal of Engineering Education, 92:15, 10-15, 2003.
• Roy, S., W. D. Kulatilaka, R. P. Lucht, N. G. Glumac, and T. Hu, “Temperature Profile Measurements in the Near-Substrate Region of Low-Pressure Diamond-Forming Flames,” Combustion and Flame, 130, 261-276, 2002.
• Hu, T. and N. G. Glumac, “The Effects of Temperature Jump on CVD Modeling,” Chemical Vapor Deposition, 8:5, 205-212, 2002.
• Wilson, K., S. Chiu, Y. Jalurian, and N. G. Glumac, “Control of Thin Film Growth in Chemical Vapor Deposition Manufacturing Systems: A Feasibility Study,” Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, 124, 715-724, 2002.
• Glumac, N. G., J. Servaites, and H. Krier, “A1O Vibrational Temperature Measurements from Burning Aluminum Particles at Elevated Pressure,” Combustion Science and Technology, 172, 97-107, 2001.
• Colibaba-Evulet, A., V. Shukla, N. G. Glumac, B. Kear, and F. Cosandey, “Parametric Study of Zirconia Nanoparticle Synthesis in Low Pressure Flames,” Scripta Materialia, 44:8-9, 2259-2262, 2001.
• Singhal, A., G. Skandan, N. Glumac, and B. H. Kear, “Minimizing Aggregation Effects in Flame Synthesized Nanoparticles,” Scripta Materialia, 44:8-9, 2203-2207, 2001.
• Elliott, G. S., N. Glumac, and C. D. Carter, “Molecular Filtered Rayleigh Scattering Applied to Combustion,” Measurement Science and Technology, 12, 452-466, 2001.
• Khadiya, N. and N. G. Glumac, “Destruction of NO during Catalytic Combustion on Platinum and Palladium,” Combustion Science and Technology, 165, 249-266, 2001.
• Glumac, N. G., “Formation and Consumption of SiO in Powder Synthesis Flames,” Combustion and Flame, 125, 702-711, 2001.
• Khadiya, N. and N. G. Glumac, “Catalytic Removal of NO from Post-flame Gases in Low Pressure Stagnation-point Flames over Platinum,” Combustion and Flame, 125, 931-941, 2001.
• Glumac, N. G., A. Colibaba-Evulet, B. H. Kear, and G. Skandan, “Nanopowder and Nanostructured Film Synthesis in Low Pressure Flames,” Journal of Metastable and Nanocrystalline Materials, 8, 468-475, 2000.
• Chiu, W. K. S., Y. Jaluria, and N. G. Glumac, “Numerical Simulation of Chemical Vapor Deposition Processes Under Variable and Constant Property Approximations,” Journal of Numerical Heat Transfer, Part A: Applications, 37, 113-132, 2000.
• Khadiya, N. and N. G. Glumac, “Validation of Surface Chemistry Models Using Low Pressure Stagnation-Point Flames: Measurements of OH Above Platinum Surfaces,” Combustion Science and Technology, 159, 147-167, 2000.
• Colibaba-Evulet, A., A. Singhal, and N. Glumac, “Detection of AlO and TiO by Laser-Induced Fluorescence in Powder Synthesis Flames,” Combustion Science and Technology, 157, 129-139, 2000.
• Tompa, G. S., G. Skandan, N. Glumac, and B. Kear, “A New Flame Process for Producing Nanopowders,” Ceramic Bulletin, 78, 70-75, 1999.
• Skandan, G., Y-J. Chen, N. Glumac, and B. H. Kear, “Synthesis of Oxide Nanoparticles in Low Pressure Flames,” NanoStructured Materials, 11:2, 149-158, 1999.
• Glumac, N. G., G. Skandan, Y. J. Chen, and B. H. Kear, “Particle Size Control During Flat Flame Synthesis of Nanophase Oxide Powders,” NanoStructured Materials, 12, 253-258, 1999.
• Singhal, A., G. Skandan, A. Wang, N. Glumac, B. Kear, and R. D. Hunt, “On Nanoparticle Aggregation During Vapor Phase Synthesis,” NanoStructured Materials, 11:4, 545-552, 1999.
• Glumac, N. and J. Sivo, “Building a Fiber-Optic Spectrograph,” Sky and Telescope, 97, 134-139, 1999.
• Glumac, N. G., Y-J. Chen, and G. Skandan, “Diagnostics and Modeling of Nanopowder Synthesis in Low Pressure Flames,” Journal of Materials Research, 13, 2572-2579, 1998.
• Lehman, R. L., J. S. Gentry, and N. G. Glumac, “Thermal Stability of Potassium Carbonate Near Its Melting Point,” Thermochimica Acta, 316, 1-9, 1998.
• Skandan, G., N. Glumac, Y-J. Chen, F. Cosandey, E. Heims, and B. Kear, “Low-Pressure Flame Deposition of Nanostructured Oxide Films,” Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 81, 2753-2756, 1998.
• Sandrowitz, A. K. M., J. Cooke, and N. G. Glumac, “Flame Emission Spectroscopy for Equivalence Ratio Monitoring,” Applied Spectroscopy, 52, 658-662, 1998.
• Glumac, N. G., Y-J. Chen, G. Skandan, and B. Kear, “Scalable High-rate Production of Non-agglomerated Nanopowders in Low Pressure Flames,” Materials Letters, 34, 148-153, 1998.
• Glumac, N. G., “Flame Temperature Predictions and Comparison with Experiment in High Flow Rate, Fuel-Rich Acetylene/Oxygen Flames,” Combustion Science and Technology, 122, 383-398, 1997.
• Elliott, G. S., N. Glumac, C. D. Carter, and A. S. Nejad, “Two-Dimensional Temperature Field Measurements Using a Molecular Filter Based Technique,” Combustion Science and Technology, 125, 351-369, 1997.
• Chen, Y., N. Glumac, B. H. Kear, and G. Skandan, “High Rate Synthesis of Nanophase Materials,” NanoStructured Materials, 9, 101-104, 1997.
• Goodwin, D. G., N. G. Glumac, and H. S. Shin, “Diamond Film Deposition in Low Pressures Flames,” Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 26, 1679-1687, 1996.
• Glumac, N. G. and D. G. Goodwin, “Diagnostics and Modeling of Strained Fuel-Rich Acetylene/Oxygen Flames used for Diamond Deposition, Combustion and Flame, 105, 321-331, 1996.
• Glumac, N. G., E. J. Corat, and D. G. Goodwin, “Diamond Growth by Methane Injection into Hydrogen-Oxygen Flames,” Diamond and Related Materials, 2, 169-173, 1993.
• Glumac, N. G. and D. G. Goodwin, “Large-Area Diamond Film Growth in a Low-Pressure Flame,” Materials Letters, 18, 119-122, 1993.
• Glumac, N. G. and D. G. Goodwin, “Diamond Growth in a Novel Low Pressure Flame,” Applied Physics Letters, 60, 2695-2696, 1992.
• Glumac, N. G. and D. G. Goodwin, “Diamond Synthesis in a Low-Pressure Flat Flame,” Thin Solid Films, 212, 122-126, 1992.

Professional Societies

• Member, Society for Applied Spectroscopy
• Member, The Society for Automotive Engineers
• Member, Central States Section of the Combustion Institute Advisory Board, 2003-date, Chairperson 2011-2013, Treasurer 2013-2015
• Member, The Combustion Institute
• Member, American Institute of Aeronautics, and Astronautics (AIAA)
• Member, American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

Teaching Honors

• CoE Five Year Teaching Effectiveness Award, Fall 2010
• Listed in the Daily Illini “Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students” for Fall 2004, Spring 2007

Research Honors

• AIAA Best Paper Award with G.S. Elliott and E. Lazar, 2009.
• Cannon Faculty Scholar, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, UIUC, 2003-present
• AIAA Best Paper Award with G. S. Elliott and C. D. Carter (Rutgers University), 1998

Recent Courses Taught

• ME 200 AL2 - Thermodynamics
• ME 320 AL1 (ME 320 ZJ1) - Heat Transfer
• ME 420 - Intermediate Heat Transfer
• ME 498 NGG (ME 498 NGU) - Engineering Spectroscopy
• ME 501 (AE 538) - Combustion Fundamentals