Fuel Blending System Control and Demonstration

A diagram of interconnected gray pipes against a gray brick wall. Small, stylized valves, pressure regulators, and other components in bright colors blue, yellow, and red are attached to the piping network. To the right of the circle, the words 'Combustion Systems Control Revamp Team' are written in bold, black, sans-serif font, arranged in four stacked lines.

Summary

The UCI Combustion Laboratory tasked our team with updating their currently outdated hardware and control program for their gas mixing station.

The laboratory was previously using twenty-year-old FieldPoint hardware and software to control their gas mixing station, which is used to mix different gas compositions for combustion research. These experiments are critical for understanding fuel behavior, improving energy efficiency, and supporting safer and more sustainable combustion systems in industrial and aerospace applications.

Due to the entirety of the gas mixing station being outdated, a complete overhaul of both the hardware and software was required to ensure that the system would remain operable into the future. Additionally, new functionality was needed to ensure accurate gas mixing under high-pressure conditions (approximately ten atmospheres), including implementing an internal validation check to ensure the specific gravity of the gas composition matches the theoretical value within five percent.

Without this overhaul and added functionality, the UCI Combustion Laboratory risked losing the ability to perform gas mixing experiments due to potential failure of legacy hardware and software. Furthermore, inaccurate gas mixtures under high-pressure conditions could compromise experimental results. This project provides a modernized, reliable, and scalable solution that enables continued research and future system expansion.

Technical Approach/Methodology

To complete the hardware overhaul, our team first identified and selected the appropriate National Instruments (NI) modules required to control both the on/off valves and proportional fuel valves within the mixing station. In addition, legacy flow measurement systems were replaced with a Coriolis flow meter, which provides accurate real-time measurements of mass flow rate and temperature.

After determining the required hardware, a budget was developed and submitted for approval. Once approved, the outdated FieldPoint hardware was removed from the system to prepare for integration of the new NI-based architecture.

The software overhaul was completed over two quarters and focused on redesigning the control system to align with modern data acquisition methods. This included learning and implementing LabVIEW with NI-DAQmx drivers, as well as restructuring the control logic to accommodate updated hardware and data flow requirements.

To improve system reliability and validation, a MATLAB-based data acquisition and simulation environment was developed. This allowed the team to simulate multiple data streams, test control logic, and verify system behavior before deployment. MATLAB was also used to handle data logging and processing, while LabVIEW was used for real-time control and user interface interaction.

This hybrid MATLAB + LabVIEW architecture represents a key design decision, enabling improved flexibility, modularity, and scalability compared to the original system. The integration of modern sensing (Coriolis meter), updated hardware (NI modules), and simulation-based validation ensures a robust and future-proof control system.

Outcomes

The project resulted in significant progress toward modernizing the UCI Combustion Laboratory gas mixing system. The required hardware components were successfully identified and ordered, and the system was prepared for installation with the removal of legacy FieldPoint hardware. Although full installation was delayed due to funding timelines, the system is now fully prepared for integration.

The MATLAB data acquisition system was successfully developed and tested, demonstrating accurate data logging and real-time data streaming for a Coriolis flow meter. This establishes a scalable framework capable of supporting multiple data streams, as required by the laboratory.

Additionally, the LabVIEW-based control system was redesigned and tested using simulated data. The updated control logic, including valve actuation and mixture calculations, was verified through simulation to ensure correct system behavior.

Key deliverables from this project include:

A fully redesigned control system architecture using LabVIEW and NI-DAQmx
A MATLAB-based data acquisition and simulation framework
Integration methodology for Coriolis flow measurement
A scalable and modular system design for future expansion

While final validation with live hardware is still required, the project successfully established a robust foundation for a modernized gas mixing system that improves accuracy, reliability, and long-term maintainability.

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