Research Themes +
Energy Technologies Area (ETA) researchers are continually building on the strong scientific foundation we have developed over the past 50 years. We address the world’s most pressing climate challenges by bringing to market energy-efficient innovations across the buildings, transportation, and industrial sectors. ETA is at the forefront of developing better batteries for electric vehicles; improving the country's aging electrical grid and innovating distributed energy and storage solutions; developing grid-interactive, efficient buildings; and providing the most comprehensive market and data analysis worldwide for renewable technologies like wind and solar.
Strategic Initiatives +
The Energy Technologies Area (ETA) Strategic Plan is the guiding force for our research and development for the next ten years. It clearly charts a path toward clean-energy solutions and focuses on five detailed Strategic Initiatives. The Plan provides an in-depth look at how ETA is accelerating research to provide affordable, clean energy to all while accomplishing deep, economy-wide decarbonization, looking to avoid a rise in global average temperature while simultaneously developing solutions to increase humanity's resilience to extreme weather volatility.
Publications
News +
For media inquiries,
please contact ETA
Interim Communications Manager
Kiran Julin

kjulin@lbl.gov
About Us +
The Energy Technologies Area (ETA) is unique in translating fundamental scientific discoveries into scalable technology adoption. Our approach combines an understanding of the marketplace and the role of state and federal regulation and policies. ETA's research drives real-world, practical results that affect and improve the everyday lives of Americans and those across the globe. Saving energy and battling the Climate Crisis are key to the foundation of our research, which is driven by technoeconomic analysis and in-lab experimentation and discovery.

Publications

Publications by Research Area

Demand Response

Electricity Markets & Policy

Energy Efficiency

Industrial Energy Analysis

Renewable Energy

Sustainable Energy & Environmental Systems

Publications by Division

Building Technology (BTUS)

Energy Analysis (EAEI)

Energy Storage (ESDR)

2017

Rapp, Vi H., Robert K. Cheng, and Peter L. Therkelsen."A high turndown, ultra low emission low-swirl burner for natural gas, on-demand water heaters." (2017).

2016

Therkelsen, Peter L., Robert K. Cheng, and Darren Sholes."Research and Development of Natural Draft Ultra-Low Emissions Burners for Gas Appliances." (2016).

2013

Therkelsen, Peter L., J. Enrique Portillo, David Littlejohn, Scott M. Martin, and Robert K. Cheng."Self-induced unstable behaviors of CH₄ and H₂/CH₄ flames in a model combustor with a low-swirl injector."Combustion and Flame 160.2 (2013) 307 - 321. DOI

Davis, Dustin W., Peter L. Therkelsen, David Littlejohn, and Robert K. Cheng."Effects of Hydrogen on the Thermo-Acoustics Coupling Mechanisms of Low-Swirl Injector Flames in a Model Gas Turbine Combustor."Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 34.2 (2013) 3135–3143. DOI

2012

Beerer, David, Vincent McDonnell, Peter L. Therkelsen, and Robert K. Cheng."Flashback, Blow out, Emissions and Turbulent Displacement Flame Speed Measurements in a Hydrogen and Methane Fired Low-Swirl Injector at Elevated Temperatures and Pressures”."ASME Turbo Expo 2012: Power for Land, Sea and Air (2012).

Therkelsen, Peter L., David Littlejohn, and Robert K. Cheng."Parametric Study of Low-Swirl Injector Geometry on it Operability."ASME TurboExpo (2012).

2009

Littlejohn, David, Robert K. Cheng, David R. Noble, and Tim Lieuwen."Laboratory Investigations of Low-Swirl Injectors Operating With Syngases."Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power 132.1 (2009) 011502-011509. DOI

Cheng, Robert K., David Littlejohn, Peter A. Strakey, and Todd Sidwell."Laboratory Investigations of a Low-swirl Injector with H₂ and CH₄ at Gas Turbine Conditions."Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 32.2 (2009) 3001-3009. DOI

Cheng, Robert K.."Turbulent Combustion Properties of Premixed Syngases."Synthesis Gas Combustion 1 (2009) 129-168.

2008

Cheng, Robert K., and David Littlejohn."Effects of Combustor Geometry on the Flowfields and Flame Properties of A Low-Swirl Injector."ASME Turbo Expo 2008: Power for Land, Sea, and Air 3 (2008). DOI

Cheng, Robert K., and David Littlejohn."Laboratory Study of Premixed H₂-Air and H₂-N₂-Air Flames in a Low-Swirl Injector for Ultra-Low Emissions Gas Turbines."Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power 130.3 (2008) 31503-31511. DOI

Cheng, Robert K., David Littlejohn, Wazeer A. Nazeer, and Kenneth O. Smith."Laboratory Studies of the Flow Field Characteristics of Low-Swirl Injectors for Application to Fuel-Flexible Turbines."ASME Turbo Expo 2006: Power for Land, Sea, and Air 1 (2008) 21501-21511. DOI

Cheng, Robert K., David Littlejohn, David R. Noble, and Tim Lieuwen."Laboratory Investigations of Low-Swirl Injectors Operating With Syngases."ASME Turbo Expo 2008: Power for Land Sea and Air, June 9–13, 2008 Volume 3: Combustion, Fuels and Emissions, Parts A and B (2008). DOI

Cheng, Robert K., Howard Levinsky, and Derek Dunn-Rankin."Lean Premixed Burners."Lean Combustion (2008) 161-177. DOI

2007

Gotoda, Hiroshi, Toshihisa Ueda, Ian G. Shepherd, and Robert K. Cheng."Flame flickering frequency on a rotating Bunsen burner."Chemical Engineering Science 62 (2007) 1753-1759. DOI

Bell, John B., Robert K. Cheng, Marcus S. Day, and Ian G. Shepherd."Numerical simulation of Lewis number effects on lean premixed turbulent flames."Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 31.1 (2007) 1309-1317. DOI

2005

Johnson, Matthew R., David Littlejohn, Wazeer A. Nazeer, Kenneth O. Smith, and Robert K. Cheng."A Comparison of Flowfields and Emmissions of High-Swirl Injectors and Low-Swirl Injectors for Lean Premixed Gas Turbines."Proceddings of the Combustion Institute 30.2 (2005) 2867-2874. DOI

2003

Gotoda, Hiroshi, Kazuyuki Maeda, Toshihisa Ueda, and Robert K. Cheng."Periodic motion of a Bunsen flame tip with burner rotation."Combustion And Flame 134.1-2 (2003) 67-79. DOI

2002

Cheng, Robert K., Ian G. Shepherd, Benoit Bédat, and Lawrence Talbot."Premixed turbulent flame structures in moderate and intense isotropic turbulence."Combusition Science and Technology 174.1 (2002) 29-59. DOI

Littlejohn, David, Adrian J. Majeski, Shaheen R. Tonse, Carlo Castaldini, and Robert K. Cheng."Laboratory investigation of an ultralow NO_x premixed combustion concept for industrial boilers."Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 29 (2002) 1115-1121. DOI

Shepherd, Ian G., Robert K. Cheng, Tobias Plessing, Christoph Kortschik, and Norbert Peters."Premixed Flame Font Structure in Intense Turbulence."Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 29.2 (2002) 1833-1840. DOI

2001

Shepherd, Ian G., and Robert K. Cheng."The burning rate of premixed flames in moderate and intense turbulence."Combustion and Flame 127.3 (2001) 2066-2075. DOI

1999

Cheng, Robert K., Benoit Bédat, and Larry W. Kostiuk."Effects of buoyancy on lean premixed V-flames Part I: laminar and turbulent flame structures."Combustion And Flame 116 (1999) 360-375. DOI

1998

Yegian, Derek T, and Robert K. Cheng."Development of a lean premixed low-swirl burner for low NO_x practical applications."Combusition Science and Technology 139 (1998) 207-227. DOI

1996

Bédat, Benoit, and Robert K. Cheng."Effects of buoyancy on premixed flame stabilization."Combustion and Flame 107.1-2 (1996) 13-26. DOI