Research Interests:

Bill Partridge is a senior R&D staff member of Fuels, Engines and Emissions Research Center (FEERC). He leads efforts to develop and apply advanced diagnostics to better understand catalyst and engine-catalyst systems. He has been active in diagnostics development for temperature and species-concentration imaging and measurement since 1988. Dr. Partridge is the principle developer of the Spatially Resolved Capillary Inlet Mass Spectrometer, SpaciMS, which has provided unprecedented insights into distributed chemistry transients within operating catalysts.

Dr. Partridge has worked on a broad range of issues related to Lean NOx Trap catalysis including, role of water-gas-shift reaction, roles of ammonia, water effects on nitrate stability, sulfation and thermal deactivation impacts on specific catalyst reactions, and desulfation kinetics. He has also studied the transient species and temperature distributions within operating partial oxidation reformer catalysts, to elucidate specific reaction zones and the evolution of various reformer reactions, and in partnership with industry assess state-of-the-art reformer models. In other work, Dr. Partridge has studied PEM fuel cells, diesel EGR mixing systems, sensors for active system control, and rapid-feedback engine-oil condition sensors.

Dr. Partridge currently is PI on an industrial CRADA focused on engine-catalyst system and a separate project investigating instrumentation and fuel effects related to High Efficiency Clean Combustion, an advanced diesel combustion strategy. He also is active in the CLEERS (cross-cut lean exhaust emissions simulations) project at ORNL. His primary research interests are applied catalysis and development of advanced diagnostics.

Selected current research themes include:

• Transient intra-channel catalyst chemistry