BIO

Dr. Kristyn Johnson is a research mechanical engineer on the Thermal Sciences team under the Energy Conversion Engineering Directorate. Dr. Johnson’s work with the Advanced Turbines program focuses on high-speed diagnostics and machine learning applications applied to rotating detonation engines.

Dr. Johnson originally joined NETL as a Graduate Researcher through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellowship program. She earned her bachelor’s degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering from West Virginia University (WVU) and completed her PhD in mechanical engineering from WVU in 2022.

ABSTRACT

Combustion will continue to play a vital role in the energy portfolio of our nation, and technological advancements will remain a requirement to achieve energy goals. Converting combustion devices in gas turbine engines to rotating detonation engines is one way to do this.  However, combustion waves move faster than the speed of sound. Leveraging artificial intelligence models enables faster data processing to accelerate the improvement of combustion within gas turbines, ensuring a more affordable and reliable energy.