Professor Assaad Masri
People_

Professor Assaad Masri

BE, PhD (Sydney)
ARC-Australian Professorial Fellow
School of Aerospace Mechanical &
Mechatronic Engineering

Assaad Masri is currently an ARC-Australian Professorial Fellow in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sydney and Chairman of the Australia and New Zealand section of the Combustion Institute. He is internationally known as a leading scientist in turbulent combustion of gaseous and liquid fuels and laser diagnostics in combustion. He is on the editorial board of three prestigious journals and a founding member of the International Workshops on Measurements and Computations of Turbulent Nonpremixed Flames (TNF) as well as the International Workshop on Turbulent Combustion of Sprays (TCS). He has published over 150 papers, attracted over eight million dollars of research funding and established one of the most advanced combustion laser diagnostics systems in the world.

The burning of fuels to produce useable energy is a very old process but one that is not yet perfectly efficient, as it also produces waste and pollutants. Professor Assaad Masri leads a team of researchers who are working to devise methods leading to 'clean' combustion - both of fossil fuels and of renewable fuels such as biofuels and biodiesels - thus improving energy-conversion efficiency and reducing the emission of pollutants from engines, industrial furnaces and other combustion devices.

"When we introduce new fuel alternatives into the market, we need to ensure that these fuels can be burnt efficiently, safely and cleanly, in that they do not produce harmful emissions such as nano-sized particles that will have negative long-term health effects.

"My colleagues and I design burners that allow us to better understand turbulent combustion and hence devise tools that assist engineers to achieve this.

"Numerous burners that we have designed are now used by both industry and academia as international benchmarks for developing and validating advanced predictive methods for combustion.

"Our research uses the latest numerical tools in conjunction with state-of-the-art experimental laser-based techniques to probe flows. We work with laboratory flame as well as engines, and are also researching methods of developing micro-combustors that can be used for micro-power generation.

"Our aim is to transform combustion science in order to facilitate the optimisation of combustors by design engineers."

  • Member of the Combustion Institute
  • Silver Combustion Medal of The Combustion Institute
  • Editorial Board of Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, Combustion Theory and Modeling
Clean energy
Project titleResearch student
Computations of differential diffusion and mixed-mode effects in turbulent flames of clean fuels.Nizar EL HAKIM
Mixed-Mode Turbulent CombustionDulat KARIM
Structure and stability of turbulent mixed-mode flames of green fuel blendsAhmad KATTAN
The computations of buoyant fires and fire suppressionHeba MUSTAFA
Investigations and synthesis of functional nanoparticles and materials.Pooja Sharma PARIHAR

Publications

Book Chapters

  • Masri, A. (2011). Design of Experiments for Gaining Insights and Validating Modeling of Turbulent Combustion. In Tarek Echekki, Epaminondas Mastorakos (Eds.), Turbulent Combustion Modeling: Advances, New Trends and Perspectives, (pp. 355-380). Dordrecht: Springer. [More Information]
  • Masri, A., Gounder, J. (2011). Details and Complexities of Boundary Conditions in Turbulent Piloted Dilute Spray Jets and Flames. In Bart Merci, Dirk Roekaerts and Amsini Sadiki (Eds.), Experiments and Numerical Simulations of Diluted Spray Turbulent Combustion, (pp. 41-68). New York, USA: Springer. [More Information]

Journals

  • Milton-McGurk, L., Kourmatzis, A., Chan, H., Cheng, S., Masri, A., Farina, D. (2024). A new LED-based extinction tomography method for measurement of aerosol surface area. Journal of Aerosol Science, 181, 106432. [More Information]
  • Avila Jimenez, C., Macfarlane, A., Younes, M., Jamal, A., Dunn, M., Guiberti, T., Masri, A., Roberts, W. (2024). Effects of secondary air injection on the emissions and stability of two-stage NH3-CH4-air swirl flames. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 40(1-4), 105723. [More Information]
  • Masri, A., Barlow, R. (2024). On conserved scalars that preserve stoichiometric mixture fraction. Combustion and Flame, 260, 113224. [More Information]

Conferences

  • Dunn, M., Macfarlane, A., Barlow, R., Geyer, D., Dieter, K., Masri, A. (2021). Spontaneous Raman-LIF-CO-OH measurements of species concentration in turbulent spray flames. 38th International Symposium on Combustion, 2021, Australia: Elsevier. [More Information]
  • Ahmed, H., Ashraf, M., Steinmetz, S., Dunn, M., Masri, A. (2021). The role of DME addition on the evolution of soot and soot precursors in laminar ethylene jet flames. 38th International Symposium on Combustion, 2021, Australia: Elsevier. [More Information]
  • Aldawsari, S., Galindo Lopez, S., Cleary, M., Masri, A. (2020). An analysis of sensitivity to mixing distance in MMC-LES of a mixed-mode turbulent piloted jet flame. 12th Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion (ASPACC 2019), Fukuoka: The Combustion Institute.

2024

  • Milton-McGurk, L., Kourmatzis, A., Chan, H., Cheng, S., Masri, A., Farina, D. (2024). A new LED-based extinction tomography method for measurement of aerosol surface area. Journal of Aerosol Science, 181, 106432. [More Information]
  • Avila Jimenez, C., Macfarlane, A., Younes, M., Jamal, A., Dunn, M., Guiberti, T., Masri, A., Roberts, W. (2024). Effects of secondary air injection on the emissions and stability of two-stage NH3-CH4-air swirl flames. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 40(1-4), 105723. [More Information]
  • Masri, A., Barlow, R. (2024). On conserved scalars that preserve stoichiometric mixture fraction. Combustion and Flame, 260, 113224. [More Information]

2023

  • Huo, Z., Cleary, M., Wu, K., Masri, A., Fan, X. (2023). A dynamic load balancing model coupled with DAC and ISAT for a stochastic turbulent combustion model. Combustion Theory and Modelling. [More Information]
  • Li, Z., Marei, M., Farooq, A., Masri, A., Montoya, A. (2023). Micro-kinetics of ethylene and methane oxidation on platinum. Chemical Engineering Journal, 464. [More Information]
  • Jaber, O., Dai, S., Kourmatzis, A., Masri, A. (2023). REGIMES FOR FLOW-BLURRING AND FLOW-FOCUSING ATOMIZATION OF NEWTONIAN AND NON-NEWTONIAN FLUIDS. Atomization and Sprays, 33(5), 1-19. [More Information]

2022

  • Huo, Z., Cleary, M., Masri, A., Mueller, M. (2022). A coupled MMC-LES and sectional kinetic scheme for soot formation in a turbulent flame. Combustion and Flame, 241. [More Information]
  • Wen, J., Hu, Y., Nishiie, T., Iino, J., Masri, A., Kurose, R. (2022). A flamelet LES of turbulent dense spray flame using a detailed high-resolution VOF simulation of liquid fuel atomization. Combustion and Flame, 237. [More Information]
  • Marei, M., Khan, H., Badra, J., Montoya, A., Farooq, A., Masri, A. (2022). Comparative Study of the Catalytic Oxidation of Hydrocarbons on Platinum and Palladium Wires and Nanoparticles. Energy and Fuels, 36(4), 2044-2057. [More Information]

2021

  • Huo, Z., Cleary, M., Sirignano, M., Masri, A. (2021). A sectional soot formation kinetics scheme with a new model for coagulation efficiency. Combustion and Flame, 230, 111444. [More Information]
  • Li, R., Malalasekera, W., Ibrahim, S., Masri, A. (2021). An LES-DFSD study of transient premixed propane/air flames propagating past obstacles. Fuel, 302, 121099. [More Information]
  • Ahmed, T., Kourmatzis, A., Masri, A. (2021). Atomization behaviour of a hybrid air-blast-electrostatic atomizer for spray combustion. Fuel, 288, 119716. [More Information]

2020

  • Aldawsari, S., Galindo Lopez, S., Cleary, M., Masri, A. (2020). An analysis of sensitivity to mixing distance in MMC-LES of a mixed-mode turbulent piloted jet flame. 12th Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion (ASPACC 2019), Fukuoka: The Combustion Institute.
  • Guiberti, T., Boyette, W., Krishna, Y., Roberts, W., Masri, A., Magnotti, G. (2020). Assessment of the stabilization mechanisms of turbulent lifted jet flames at elevated pressure using combined 2-D diagnostics. Combustion and Flame, 214, 323-335. [More Information]
  • Singh, G., Juddoo, M., Kourmatzis, A., Dunn, M., Masri, A. (2020). Heat release zones in turbulent, moderately dense spray flames of ethanol and biodiesel. Combustion and Flame, 220, 298-311. [More Information]

2019

  • Masri, A., Starner, S., Hou, Y., Juddoo, M. (2019). A Study of Deflagrations in Stratified Mixtures of Liquefied Petroleum Gas. Ninth International Seminar on Fire and Explosion Hazards (ISFEH9), Saint Petersburg: Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University Press. [More Information]
  • Guiberti, T., Boyette, W., Masri, A., Roberts, W. (2019). An experimental study of turbulent lifted flames at elevated pressures. Combustion and Flame, 203, 301-312. [More Information]
  • Satija, A., Chang, Z., Lowe, A., Thomas, L., Masri, A., Lucht, R. (2019). CARS thermometry in laminar sooting ethylene-air co-flow diffusion flames with nitrogen dilution. Combustion and Flame, 208, 37-44. [More Information]

2018

  • Mansour, M., Pitsch, H., Kruse, S., Zayed, M., Senosy, M., Juddoo, M., Beeckmann, J., Masri, A. (2018). A concentric flow slot burner for stabilizing turbulent partially premixed inhomogeneous flames of gaseous fuels. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 91, 214-229. [More Information]
  • Galindo Lopez, S., Salehi, F., Cleary, M., Masri, A., Neuber, G., Stein, O., Kronenburg, A., Varna, A., Hawkes, E., Sundaram, B., et al (2018). A stochastic multiple mapping conditioning computational model in OpenFOAM for turbulent combustion. Computers and Fluids, 172, 410-425. [More Information]
  • Ahmed, H., Dunn, M., Bartos, D., Masri, A. (2018). An investigation of high power laser pulses on soot using an IR pump UV probe approach. 11th Asia Pacific Conference on Combustion (ASPACC 2017), Shanghai: The Combustion Institute.

2017

  • Galindo Lopez, S., Salehi, F., Zhao, L., Cleary, M., Masri, A., Neuber, G., Straub, C., Kronenburg, A., Klimenko, A. (2017). A Multiple Mapping Conditioning Turbulent Combustion Model in OpenFOAM. 12th OpenFOAM Workshop Workshop, UK.
  • Perry, B., Mueller, M., Masri, A., Bhatia, R. (2017). A two mixture fraction flamelet model for large eddy simulation of turbulent flames with inhomogeneous inlets. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 36, 1767-1775. [More Information]
  • Kourmatzis, A., Pham, X., Masri, A. (2017). A two-angle far-field microscope imaging technique for spray flows. Measurement Science and Technology, 28(3), 1-15. [More Information]

2016

  • Salehi, F., Cleary, M., Masri, A. (2016). A Sensitivity Analysis for Sparse-Lagrangian MMC in Simulations of a n-dodecane Reacting Jet. SAE Technical Papers, 2016 (1), 1-12. [More Information]
  • Kourmatzis, A., Lowe, A., Masri, A. (2016). Combined effervescent and airblast atomization of a liquid jet. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 75, 66-76. [More Information]
  • Pham, X., Kourmatzis, A., Masri, A. (2016). Feasibility and Uncertainties Associated with Two-Angle Imaging of Sprays: A Focus on 3D Velocity Measurements. 20th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference (AFMC 2016), Perth: Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society.

2015

  • Pham, X., Kourmatzis, A., Masri, A. (2015). A New Approach in Characterizing Secondary-Breakup Regimes for Newtonian Liquids. Australian Combustion Symposium 2015, Melbourne, Victoria: The Combustion Institute Australia & New Zealand.
  • Bodisco, T., Choy, S., Masri, A., Brown, R. (2015). A statistical model for combustion resonance from a di diesel engine with applications. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 60-61, 406-419. [More Information]
  • Bartos, D., Dunn, M., Sirignano, M., D'Anna, A., Masri, A. (2015). A technique for the measurement and classification of soot precursors and soot particles in turbulent flames. Australian Combustion Symposium 2015, Melbourne, Victoria: The Combustion Institute Australia & New Zealand.

2014

  • Heye, C., Kourmatzis, A., Raman, V., Masri, A. (2014). A comparative study of the simulation of turbulent ethanol spray flames. 3rd International Workshop on the Turbulent Combustion of Sprays (TCS3), : Springer Netherlands. [More Information]
  • Meares, S., Masri, A. (2014). A modified piloted burner for stabilizing turbulent flames of inhomogeneous mixtures. Combustion and Flame, 161(2), 484-495. [More Information]
  • Kourmatzis, A., Lowe, A., Masri, A. (2014). Atomization Instabilities in Bubble Induced Break-up. 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, : SPIE.

2013

  • Badra, J., Masri, A., Zhou, C., Haynes, B. (2013). A comparative experimental study of the interactions between platinum and a range of hydrocarbon fuels. Fuel, 105(March), 523-534. [More Information]
  • Meares, S., Juddoo, M., Masri, A. (2013). A New Burner for Investigating Turbulent Inhomogeneous Partial Premixed Flames. 9th Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion (ASPACC), Gyeongju, Korea: The Korean Society of Combustion.
  • Wang, H., Juddoo, M., Starner, S., Masri, A., Pope, S. (2013). A Novel Transient Turbulent Jet Flame for Studying Turbulent Combustion. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 34(1), 1251-1259. [More Information]

2012

  • Masri, A., Al-Harbi, A., Meares, S., Ibrahim, S. (2012). A Comparative Study of Turbulent Premixed Flames Propagating Past Repeated Obstacles. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 51(22), 7690-7703. [More Information]
  • Badra, J., Masri, A. (2012). Catalytic combustion of selected hydrocarbon fuels on platinum: Reactivity and hetero-homogeneous interactions. Combustion and Flame, 159(2), 817-831. [More Information]
  • Badra, J., Masri, A. (2012). Design of a numerical microcombustor for diffusion flames. Combustion Science and Technology, 184(7-8), 1121-1134. [More Information]

2011

  • O'Loughlin, W., Masri, A. (2011). A new burner for studying auto-ignition in turbulent dilute sprays. Combustion and Flame, 158(8), 1577-1590. [More Information]
  • Thornber, B., Bilger, R., Masri, A., Hawkes, E. (2011). An algorithm for LES of premixed compressible flows using the Conditional Moment Closure model. Journal of Computational Physics, 230(20), 7687-7705. [More Information]
  • Thornber, B., Bilger, R., Masri, A., Hawkes, E. (2011). Coupling the Conditional Moment Closure Model to a Fully Compressible Large Eddy Simulation Algorithm. 7th Mediterranean Combustion Symposium (MCS-7), Sardinia, Italy: International Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer.

2010

  • Dunn, M., Masri, A. (2010). A comprehensive model for the quantification of linear and nonlinear regime laser-induced fluorescence of OH under A^2Σ+<-X^2Π(1,0) excitation. Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics, 101(1-2), 445-463. [More Information]
  • Dunn, M., Masri, A., Bilger, R., Barlow, R. (2010). Finite Rate Chemistry Effects in Highly Sheared Turbulent Premixed Flames. Flow, Turbulence and Combustion, 85(3-4), 621-648. [More Information]
  • Meares, S., Al-Harbi, A., Masri, A. (2010). High-Speed LIF-OH Imaging of Turbulent Premixed Flames Propagating Past Solid Obstacles. 8th Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion, Hyderabad, India: ASPACC.

2009

  • Gubba, S., Ibrahim, S., Malalasekera, W., Masri, A. (2009). An assessment of large eddy simulations of premixed flames propagating past repeated obstacles. Combustion Theory and Modelling, 13(3), 513-540. [More Information]
  • Ibrahim, S., Gubba, S., Masri, A., Malalasekera, W. (2009). Calculations of explosion deflagrating flames using a dynamic flame surface density model. Journal of Loss Prevention In the Process Industries, 22, 258-264. [More Information]
  • Badra, J., Masri, A. (2009). Calculations of flame Structure Ignited on Catalytic Surface. Australian Combustion Symposium 2009, Australia: University of Queensland.

2008

  • Gounder, J., Juddoo, M., Masri, A., Starner, S. (2008). Difficulties associated with using laser induced fluorescence form NO as a conserved scalar in spray jets and flames. Fifth Australian Conference on Laser Diagnostics in Fluid Mechanics and Combustion, Australia: University of Western Australia.
  • Gounder, J., Masri, A., Bilger, R. (2008). Droplet burning behaviour in turbulent jet spray flames of acetone. Ninth Asia-Pacific International Symposium on Combustin and Energy Utilization, Beijing, China: World Publishing Corporation.
  • Gubba, S., Ibrahim, S., Malalasekera, W., Masri, A. (2008). LES Modeling of Premixed Deflagrating Flames in a smale-scale Vented Explosion Chamber with a Series of Solid Obstructions. Combustion Science and Technology, 180, 1936-1955. [More Information]

2007

  • Dunn, M., Masri, A., Bilger, R. (2007). A new piloted premixed jet burner to study strong finite-rate chemistry effects. Combustion and Flame, 151(1-2), 46-60. [More Information]
  • Gordon, R., Masri, A., Pope, S., Goldin, G. (2007). A numerical study of auto-ignition in turbulent lifted flames issuing into a vitiated co-flow. Combustion Theory and Modelling, 11(3), 351-376. [More Information]
  • Badra, J., Masri, A., Fitch, M. (2007). Calculation of Transient Heat Transfer from an Array of Circular Jets. Australian Combustion Symposium (ACS-2007), Sydney, Australia: University of Sydney.

2006

  • Chen, Y., Starner, S., Masri, A. (2006). A detailed experimental investigation of well-defined, turbulent evaporating spray jets of acetone. International Journal of Multiphase Flow, 32(4), 389-412. [More Information]
  • Ibrahim, S., Ali, A., El-Rimawi, J., Masri, A. (2006). A Numerical Study of Compressible Flow Interactions with Solid Walls in a Premixed Combustion Chamber. World Journal of Engineering, 3(1), 1-7.
  • Wu, Z., Masri, A., Bilger, R. (2006). An experimental investigation of the turbulence structure of a lifted H-2/N-2 jet flame in a vitiated co-flow. Flow, Turbulence and Combustion, 76(1), 61-81. [More Information]

2005

  • Kent, J., Masri, A., Starner, S. (2005). A New Chamber to Study Premixed Flame Propagation Past Repeated Obstacles. 5th Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion (ASPACC), Adelaide, South Australia: University of Adelaide.
  • Gounder, J., Starner, S., Masri, A. (2005). Effects of Droplet Loading in Turbulent Spray Ethanol Flames. 4th Australian Conference on Laser Diagnostics in Fluid Mechanics and Combustion, Adelaide, South Australia: University of Adelaide.
  • Starner, S., Gounder, J., Masri, A. (2005). Effects of turbulence and carrier fluid on simple, turbulent spray jet flames. Combustion and Flame, 143(4), 420-432. [More Information]

2004

  • Masri, A., Cao, R., Pope, S., Goldin, G. (2004). Pdf Calculations Of Turbulent Lifted Flames Of H-2/N-2 Fuel Issuing Into A Vitiated Co-Flow. Combustion Theory and Modelling, 8(1), 1-22. [More Information]
  • Al-Abdeli, Y., Masri, A. (2004). Precession And Recirculation In Turbulent Swirling Isothermal Jets. Combustion Science and Technology, 176(5-6), 645-665. [More Information]
  • Masri, A., Kalt, P., Barlow, R. (2004). The Compositional Structure Of Swirl-Stabilised Turbulent Nonpremixed Flames. Combustion and Flame, 137(1-2), 1-37. [More Information]

2003

  • Chen, Y., Starner, S., Masri, A. (2003). A comparative study of methanol and acetone spray combustion in a simple turbulent jet flow. 19th ICDERS, : National University of Singapore.
  • Abdelkarim, N., Masri, A., Ibrahim, S., Wigley, G. (2003). An evaluation of atomization models for dense sprays. 9th International Conference on Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems: iclass Europe, CD: Iclass.
  • Starner, S., Masri, A. (2003). An experimental comparison of evaporating and non-evaporating sprays in a simpel turbulent jet flow. 9th International Conference on Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems: iclass Europe, CD: Iclass.

2002

  • Chen, Y., Starner, S., Masri, A. (2002). Characteristics of turbulent spray combustion in a piloted jet flame burner. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 29(1), 625-632. [More Information]
  • Rosaguti, N., Fletcher, D., Al-Abdeli, Y., Masri, A. (2002). Computations and measurements of turbulent non-reacting swirling jets. 2002 Australian Symposium on Combustion and 7th Australian Flame Days, Adelaide: Australian Flame Research Committee Inc.
  • Mackie, J., Masri, A., Chelliah,, H. (2002). Flame suppression studies of water mist solutions. 2002 Australian Symposium on Combustion and 7th Australian Flame Days, Adelaide: Australian Flame Research Committee Inc.

2001

  • Al-Abdeli, Y., Masri, A. (2001). Characterisation of strongly swirling nonpremixed flames. 3rd Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion. Ads & Adea.
  • Chen, Y., Starner, S., Masri, A. (2001). Combined PDA/LIF measurements in simple, evaporating turbulent spray jets. 14th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference. UNSW Australian Defence Force Academy.
  • Al-Abdeli, Y., Lade, A., Masri, A., Ibrahim, S. (2001). Experimental and Numerical Study of premixed flame propagation past an obstacle. 3rd Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion. Ads & Adea.

Selected Grants

2023

  • Li-Ion Battery Safety: Investigation of Effluent Gases, Autoignition Dynamics, and Flame Propagation, Masri A, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology/Research Support

2022

  • Net Zero Initiatives - NSW Powerfuels Network including H2, Masri A, Faculty of Engineering & Information Technology/The Net Zero Initiative Seed Funding (NZISF)
  • Measurement of single- and multi-component liquid fragments (>200m) in hot air, Masri A, Kourmatzis A, Dunn M, Cleary M, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Pty Ltd (Japan)/Client Commissioned Research

In the media

$28m funding investment for new University of Sydney research[10-Nov-17]

UnIversity of Sydney

Seventy-one projects get the green light from the ARCMore..