Dr Bianca Capra

Senior Lecturer
School of Engineering and Information Technology
b.capra@adfa.edu.au
+ 61 2 6268 9531
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  • ABOUT
  • PUBLICATIONS

Dr Capra is a  passionate and enthusiastic mechanical and aerospace engineer working to train and inspire future generations of innovative engineers. Bianca is excited about all things engineering, with experience in topics ranging from high speed atmospheric and interplanetary flight to generating practical solutions to reduce the energy use of our built environment. Her second great passion is education our future STEM leaders, and she has over 11 years' experience in the higher education sector, and currently lectures in aerospace engineering at UNSW Canberra.

Bianca holds both a bachelor's degree and Ph.D in aerospace engineering from the University of Queensland, a Graduate certificate in Academic Practice from the Queensland University of Technology and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Bianca is an elected council member of the Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society (AFMS) and is currently Chair of the AFMS sub-committees for Regional Branches and Women in Fluid Mechanics.

Bianca's research interests are in the broad field of thermo-fluids and fluid-structural interaction, with specific applications to aerospace and high-speed flight. Bianca currently performs research in the following areas:

  • Novel uses of composite materials in high speed engines
  • Thermal-structrual response of composites in hypersonic flow
  • Fluid-Structrual Interaction at hypersonic speeds
  • Aerothermodynamics of entry vehicles
  • Experimental hypersonics

 

Current Ph.D research topics available:

      Book Chapters

      Tirtey S; Boyce R; Brown M; Capra B; Creagh M; Dedman A; Dimitrijevic I; Pudsey A; Sharp B; Van Standen P, 2014, 'SCRAMSPACE: Radical-Farming Scramjet for access to space', in STO-EN-AVT-234 Hypersonic Flight Testing, Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI)

      Journal articles

      Capra BR; Brown LM; Boyce RR, 2018, 'Aerothermal-structural analysis of a rocket-launched Mach 8 scramjet experiment: Descent', Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 55, pp. 501 - 517, 10.2514/1.A33964

      Seifhashem M; Capra BR; Milller W; Bell J, 2018, 'The potential for cool roofs to improve the energy efficiency of single storey warehouse-type retail buildings in Australia: A simulation case study', Energy and Buildings, vol. 158, pp. 1393 - 1403, 10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.11.034

      Omrani S; Garcia-Hansen V; Capra BR; Drogemuller R, 2017, 'Effect of natural ventilation mode on thermal comfort and ventilation performance: Full-scale measurement', Energy and Buildings, vol. 156, pp. 1 - 16, 10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.09.061

      Omrani S; Garcia-Hansen V; Capra BR; Drogemuller R, 2017, 'On the effect of provision of balconies on natural ventilation and thermal comfort in high-rise residential buildings', Building and Environment, vol. 123, pp. 504 - 516, 10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.07.016

      Omrani S; Garcia-Hansen V; Capra B; Drogemuller R, 2017, 'Natural ventilation in multi-storey buildings: Design process and review of evaluation tools', Building and Environment, vol. 116, pp. 182 - 194, 10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.02.012

      Capra BR; Boyce RR; Kuhn M; Hald H, 2015, 'Combustion enhancement in a scramjet engine using oxygen enrichment and porous fuel injection', Journal of Fluid Mechanics, vol. 767, pp. 173 - 198, 10.1017/jfm.2015.43

      Capra BR; Boyce RR; Kuhn M; Hald H, 2015, 'Porous versus porthole fuel injection in a radical farming scramjet: Numerical analysis', Journal of Propulsion and Power, vol. 31, pp. 789 - 804, 10.2514/1.B35404

      Capra BR; Brown LM; Boyce RR; Tirtey SC; Russell G, 2015, 'Aerothermal-structural analysis of a rocket-launched Mach 8 scramjet experiment: Ascent', Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 52, pp. 684 - 696, 10.2514/1.A33112

      Capra BR; Morgan RG, 2012, 'Radiative and total heat transfer measurements to a titan explorer model', Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, vol. 49, pp. 12 - 23, 10.2514/1.52961

      Conference Papers

      Capra B; Omrani S; Garcia-Hansen V; Drogemuller R, 2016, 'Predicting environmental conditions at building site for natural ventilation design: Correlation of meteorological data to air speed at building openings', in 50th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, 50th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, Adelaide, Australia, presented at 50th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, Adelaide, Australia, 07 - 09 December 2016

      Capra B; Omrani S; Garcia-Hansen V; Drogemuller R, 2016, 'Thermal comfort evaluation of natural ventilation mode: case study of a high rise residential building', in 50th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, Adelaide, 50th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia, presented at 50th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia, 07 - 09 December 2016

      Capra B; Basore K; Selzer M; Wheatley V; Boyce RR; Mee D; Kuhn M; Brieschenk S, 2016, 'Performance Comparison of Distributed Fuel Injection Methods for Hypersonic Film-Cooling', in 20th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, 20th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Perth, Australia, presented at 20th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Perth, Australia, 05 - 08 December 2016

      Ogawa H; Capra B; Lorrain P, 2015, 'Numerical investigation of upstream fuel injection through porous media for scramjet engines via surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithms', in 53rd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, presented at , 10.2514/6.2015-0884

      Capra B; Omrani S; Garcia-Hansen V; Drogemuller R, 2015, 'Investigation of the Effect of Balconies on Natural Ventilation of Dwellings in High-Rise Residential Buildings in Subtropical Climate', in 49th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, 49th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, Melbourne, Australia, presented at 49th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, Melbourne, Australia, 02 - 04 December 2015

      Capra B; Dawes L; Brown R, 2015, 'Abstract concepts made real: A pilot study examining pedagogical approaches in thermodynamics tutorials', in 26th Annual Conference of the Australasian Associated of Engineering Education, 26th Annual Conference of the Australasian Associated of Engineering Education, Geelong, Australia, presented at 26th Annual Conference of the Australasian Associated of Engineering Education, Geelong, Australia, 06 - 09 December 2015

      Capra BR, 2014, 'Porous fuel injection with oxygen enrichment in a viable scramjet engine', in Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, AFMC 2014, presented at

      Capra B; Omrani S; Hansen-Garcia V; Drogemuller R, 2014, 'Natural Ventilation Heuristics in High-Rise Residential Buildings: Evaluation and Prediction', in 48th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, 48th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, Italy, presented at 48th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association, Italy, 09 - 10 December 2014

      Capra BR; Morgan RG, 2013, 'Total heat transfer measurements on a flight investigation of reentry environment model', in Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, pp. 494 - 503, presented at , 10.2514/1.A32333

      Brieschenk S; Lorrain P; Capra BR; Boyce RR; McIntyre TJ; Kleine H; O'Byrne S, 2012, 'Chemiluminescence imaging in supersonic combustors operating in radical-farming mode', in 18th AIAA/3AF International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference 2012, presented at

      Tirtey SC; Boyce RR; Brown LM; Creagh MA; van Staden P; Dimitrijevic I; Capra B, 2012, 'The SCRAMSPACE I scramjet flight design and construction', in 18th AIAA/3AF International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference 2012, presented at

      Lorrain P; Brieschenk S; Capra BR; Boyce RR, 2012, 'A detailed investigation of nominally 2-D radical-farming scramjet combustion', in 18th AIAA/3AF International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference 2012, presented at

      Capra BR; Lorrain P; Boyce RR; Brieschenk S; Kuhn M; Hald H, 2012, 'H2- O2porous fuel injection in a radical farming scramjet', in 18th AIAA/3AF International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference 2012, presented at

      Capra BR; Boyce RR; Brieschenk S, 2012, 'Numerical modelling of porous injection in a radical farming scramjet', in 28th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences 2012, ICAS 2012, pp. 2512 - 2522, presented at

      Morgan RG; McIntyre TJ; Buttsworth DR; Jacobs PA; Potter DF; Brandis AM; Gollan RJ; Jacobs CM; Capra BR; McGilvray M, 2008, 'Impulse facilities for the simulation of hypersonic radiating flows', in 38th AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference and Exhibit, presented at

      Capra BR; Morgan RG, 2006, 'Radiative and total heat transfer measurements to a Titan explorer model', in A Collection of Technical Papers - 14th AIAA/AHI International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference, pp. 258 - 281, presented at

      Morgan RG; McIntyre TJ; Jacobs PA; Buttsworth DR; Macrossan MN; Gollan RJ; Capra BR; Brandis AM; Potter D; Eichmann T, 2006, 'Impulse facility simulation of hypervelocity radiating flows', in European Space Agency, (Special Publication) ESA SP, presented at

      Capra BR; Leyland P; Morgan RG, 2004, 'Subscale testing of the Fire II vehicle in a superorbital expansion tube', in AIAA Paper, pp. 10498 - 10506, presented at

      Capra BR; Morgan RG; Leyland P, 2004, 'New gauge design to measure radiative heat transfer to a titan aerocapture vehicle in expansion tubes', in European Space Agency, (Special Publication) ESA SP, pp. 189 - 194, presented at

      Capra BR; Morgan RG; Leyland P, 2004, 'Heat transfer measurements of the first experimental layer of the fire II reentry vehicle in expansion tubes', in European Space Agency, (Special Publication) ESA SP, pp. 243 - 248, presented at