Announcing a Special Issue of the IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
on Plasma-Assisted Combustion

(Scheduled for December 2012)

The Technical Committee on Plasma Science and Applications of the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Science Society along with the Guest Editors invite contributions to the Special Issue of the IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science on Plasma-Assisted Combustion to appear in December 2012.

The application of plasmas to enhance combustion and fuel-gasification processes is an emerging field of plasma science and technology. It is lately receiving considerable interest, driven by the need for more energy-efficient and less-polluting combustion techniques. A special forum for scientists and researchers to disseminate and review the current research and applications in this field is needed. Work in the field of plasma-assisted combustion has been reported in diverse journals and related media, and six special issues (the last being December 2011) have provided such a forum. The IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science provides an archival domain for the publication of new scientific, technological, and application results in plasma science and technology.

The intention of this Special Issue is to continue to provide a forum for high-quality publications in the field and to promote further interest and exchange of technical information in this exciting and technologically important area of plasma science. In addition, it is recognized that the same or similar plasma devices that are applied to plasma assisted combustion can be applied in new areas and even with much higher commercial potential and/or faster implementation. So, to that end, we are expanding the coverage of this special issue to include other plasma technology applications, primarily technologies that are offshoots or closely related to the plasmas of concern to combustion.

Contributions are solicited in, but not restricted to, the following topics:

• Physics/chemistry of effects of plasmas on flames, chemically reactive flows, including those at high speeds, and deflagration-to detonation transitions.
• Use of plasmas to promote and/or improve efficiency in engines (automotive,
aircraft, land-based vehicles, etc.) or flames and/or burners.
• Plasma sources (e.g., jets/torches, and others) for improved ignition, flame control, fuel reformation, and waste processing.
• Applications to aircraft pulsed detonation engines, ramjets, and scramjets.
• Applications to pollution reduction (i.e., combustion efficiency improvement and exhaust-gas cleaning).
• Applications to fuel reforming/conversion/gasification (e.g., coal or other fossil fuel to hydrogen, waste to energy).
• Applications to propulsion (plasma aerodynamics, sound abatement and drag reduction.
• Applications to alternative energy sources.
• Plasma-assisted advanced oxidation/reduction technology for water treatment.

Both full-paper and shorter technical-note manuscripts will receive consideration for publication in this Special Issue.

All contributions should reach the Guest Editors no later than March 1, 2012 at the IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science IEEE Manuscript Central website at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tps-ieee. Questions regarding the Special Issue on Plasma-Assisted Combustion can be addressed to the Guest Editors: