QUT | Staff Profiles | Bianca Capra

Name

Dr Bianca Capra

Position(s)

Lecturer
Science and Engineering Faculty,
Chemistry, Physics, Mechanical Engineering,
Energy and Process Engineering

Discipline *

Aerospace Engineering, Interdisciplinary Engineering, Other Built Environment and Design

Phone

+61 7 3138 6842

Email

Location

View location details (QUT staff and student access only)

Identifiers and profiles

Qualifications

PhD - Aerospace Space Engineering (University of Queensland)

Professional memberships and associations

Senior Member AIAA(American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics)

Elected committee member to the Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society

2013-2014, 2015-2016

Keywords

Hypersonic Flow, Thermo-fluids, Radiative Heat Transfer, Porous Material, Energy Efficency, Multidisciplinary, Sustainability

* Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008

Research Publications Announcements: I have recently been published in the Journal of Fluids Mechanics, one of the pre-eminent journals for fluid mechanics research. The details of this paper are: Capra, B.R, Boyce, R.R, Kuhn, M and Hald, H “Combustion enhancement in a scramjet engine using oxygen enrichment and porous fuel injection” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, vo,. 767 pp 173-198

This information has been contributed by Dr Bianca Capra.

Current Teaching

Heat and Mass Transfer (ENB360) : Tutor
Bulk Material Handling (ENB362) : Unit coordinator, Lecturer, Tutor
Thermodynamics 1 (ENB222) : Lecturer, Tutor
Fluid Mechanics (ENB321) : Lecturer
Engineering Sustainability and Professional Practice (EGB100) : Lecturer
Engineering Mechanics (EGB121) : Lecturer

Current Research Supervision

PhD

Flow Physics of Scramjet Fuel Injection Through Porous Walls (UQ)
Cross Ventilation in Multi-Residential Buildings: Evaluation and Design

M.S

Impact of Cool Roof Application in Commercial Buildings: A Contribution to Sustainable Design in Australia

VRES (Vacation Research Experience Scheme)

Understanding why women are still under-represented in mechanical engineering, mathematics and physics disciplines

Honours

Building Physics / Renewable Energy Topics

Air quality and distribution analysis in a Cystic Fibrosis Ward for infectious disease control (3 topics)
Energy efficiency in office and educational buildings: An experimental approach (2 topics, 1 available)
Using historical weather data to quantify the impact climate change has had on HVAC building energy use (1 topic)
Urban integrated renewable energy (4 topics)

Aerospace Topics

Numerical implementation of porous fluid flow for high-speed compressible aerodynamics applications (1 topic)
Binary scaling and aerothermal heating during atmospheric reentry (1 topic)
Aerothermal-structural analysis of the internal flight path of a Mach 8 scramjet engine (1 topic)

Current Projects Available

PhD Topics available:

Porous Fuel Injection in Hypersonic Vehicles: The Fundamental Flow Physics ( 2 topics available)
Radiation and Ablation in Rapidly Expanding Flows (1 topic available)
Vertical Axis Wind Turbines in Urban Environments (1 topic available)

This information has been contributed by Dr Bianca Capra.

Consultancy Work

Expert for Substantive Opposition to grant Patent (2015). Area of expertise: Fluid Dynamics (2015)

Industry Experience Dr Capra has 4 years industry experience where she worked as a ESD (Eccological Sustainable Engineer) Engineer with the building services industry. A summary of this experience is as follows:

Research Engineer, Bassett Consulting Engineers (now AECOM) (September 2006 – April 2008)

Specialised modelling including comprehensive CFD, energy and thermal assessment
Project management
Quality assurance procedures for modelling files and data storage

Building Physicist, Arup (May 2008 – August 2009)

Specialised computational analysis / modelling
Project management and quality assurance
Detailed client report prepartion
Green Star submission managment

Senior ESD Engineer, Viridis E3 (now Viridis) (September 2009 – July 2010)

Establishing and implementing numerical modelling team
Research on current modelling and technical analysis capabilities
Green Star submission management

Grant Funding

Early Career Research Grant (2014) AUD15,000
National Computational Infrastructure Grant (2014) AUD100,000
Travel Grant, University of Queensland (2012) AUD3,161
Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship (2005/6, 2004/5) USD12,000
Australian Postgraduate Award (2002 – 2005) AUD72,000

Peer Reviewer:

Acta Astronautica, Outstanding Reviewer Status
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

This information has been contributed by Dr Bianca Capra.

Capra BR, Morgan R, (2013) Total heat transfer measurements on a flight investigation of reentry environment model, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets p494-503
Capra BR, Morgan R, (2012) Radiative and total heat transfer measurements to a Titan Explorer model, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets p12-23
Lorrain P, Brieschenk S, Capra BR, Boyce RR, (2012) A detailed investigation of nominally 2-D radical-farming scramjet combustion, Proceedings of the 18th AIAA/3AF International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference p1-18
Brieschenk S, Lorrain P, Capra BR, Boyce RR, McIntyre T, Kleine H, O'Byrne S, (2012) Chemiluminescence imaging in supersonic combustors operating in radical-farming mode, Proceedings of the 18th AIAA/3AF International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference p574-583
Capra BR, Lorrain P, Boyce RR, Brieschenk S, Kuhn M, Hald H, (2012) H2-O2 porous fuel injection in a radical farming scramjet, Proceedings of the 18th AIAA/3AF International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference p1-19
Tirtey SC, Boyce RR, Brown LM, Creagh MA, van Staden P, Dimitrijevic I, Capra BR, (2012) The SCRAMSPACE I Scramjet flight design and construction, Proceedings of the 18th AIAA/3AF International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference p464-472
Capra BR, Boyce RR, Brieschenk S, (2012) Numerical modelling of porous injection in a radical farming scramjet, Proceedings of the 28th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences p1-11
Morgan R, McIntyre T, Jacobs P, Buttsworth D, Macrossan M, Gollan R, Capra BR, Brandis A, Potter D, Eichmann T, Jacobs C, McGilvray M, van Diem D, Scott MP, (2008) Impulse facilities for the simulation of hypersonic radiating flows, Proceedings of the 38th Fluid Dynamics Conference and Exhibit p1961-1976
Capra BR, Morgan R, Leyland P, (2005) Heat transfer measurements on the first experimental layer of the FIRE II reentry vehicle in expansion tubes, Proceedings of the 5th European Symposium on Aerothermodynamics for Space Vehicles [ESA SP-563] p243-248
Capra BR, Morgan R, Leyland P, (2005) New gauge design to measure radiative heat transfer to a Titan aerocapture vehicle in expansion tubes, Proceedings of the 5th European Symposium on Aerothermodynamics for Space Vehicles [ESA SP-563] p189-194

For more publications by this staff member, visit QUT ePrints, the University's research repository.

Awards and recognition

Type: Membership of Learned Societies
Reference year: 2013
Details: Committee Member 2013 -2015 The Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society is an independent non-profit society that supports and fosters interest in fluid mechanics and related disciplines in the Australasian region.

Type: Fellowships
Reference year: 2006
Details: This internationally competitive fellowship is awarded annually to women pursuing research towards a PhD in aerospace engineering or science. Winning candidates are chosen from an international panel of experts within this field. The fellowship was for one year and was worth USD6000

Type: Fellowships
Reference year: 2005
Details: This highly competitive international fellowship is awarded annually to women pursuing research towards a PhD in aerospace engineering or science. Winning candidates are chosen from an international panel of experts within this field. The Fellowship was for one year and had a value of USD6000.

Grants and projects (Category 1: Australian Competitive Grants only)

Title: Radiation and Ablation in Rapidly Expanding Flows
Primary fund type: CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID: DP150100631
Start year: 2015
Keywords: Hypersonic Reentry; Ablation; Radiation

Dr Bianca Capra

Personal

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Grants and projects (Category 1: Australian Competitive Grants only)