Giacomo Flora

Dr. Flora is a research engineer in the Kinetics and Process Engineering group of UDRI's Power and Energy division. In 2015, he earned his doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton with a focus on emission characterization for alternative jet fuel surrogates using shock tube techniques. Dr. Flora’s research interests include experimental investigation of combustion performances of transportation fuels in terms of ignition delay times and emission speciation using shock tube and gas chromatography techniques, and modeling application to validate and analyze chemical kinetic mechanisms coupled with computational fluid dynamics. Recently, his research extended to fuel upgrade technologies such as desulfurization and dearomatization, development of appropriate codes to predict fuel blend properties, and CFD simulations applied to several additive manufacturing/repair processes such as DMLM and cold spray.

Since 2016, he collaborates with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering of the University of Dayton as an adjunct instructor for undergraduate courses in thermal sciences and computational methods.

• Data Science and Machine Learning for fuel sciences
• Shock tube experimental techniques
• Low and high temperatures combustion of practical fuels and their surrogates
• Ignition performances and emission sampling and characterization
• Combustion kinetics modeling
• Fuel properties
• Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) applied to combustion systems
• Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) applied to additive manufacturing processes

• Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Dayton, 2015
• M.S., Astronautical Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, 2009
• B.S., Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, 2007

• The Combustion Institute
• ASM International

• G. Flora, F. Karimzadeh, M. S. P. Kahandawala, M. J. DeWitt, and E. Corporan, “Prediction of hydrocarbons ignition performances using machine learning modeling,” Fuel, vol. 368, p. 131619, Jul. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.fuel.2024.131619.
• G. Flora et al., “Chemical ignition delay of candidate drop-in replacement jet fuels under fuel-lean conditions: A shock tube study,” Fuel, vol. 209, pp. 457–472, Dec. 2017.
• Usman, M., Flora, G., Yakopcic, C., Imran, M. “A Computational Study and Stability Analysis of a Mathematical Model for In Vitro Inhibition of Cancer Cell Mutation,” International Journal of Applied and Computational Mathematics. 2016, DOI 10.1007/s40819-016-0201-8.
• Flora, G., Usman, M., “FALSKAN: A GUI Interface for the Numerical Solution of the Falkner-Skan Problem”, Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics: Advances and Applications, Vol. 8(1), (2012), 11-24.
• Flora G., Kosir, S.T., Behnke L., Stachler R.D, Heyne J.S., Zabarnick S., Gupta M., “Properties Calculator and Optimization for Drop-in Alternative Jet Fuel Blends,” AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum, January 6-11, 2019, San Diego (CA), AIAA 2019-2368.
• Kosir S.T, Behnke L., Heyne J.S., Stachler R.D, Flora G,, Zabarnick S., George A., Landera A., Bambha R., Denney R., Gupta, M. "Improvement in Jet Aircraft Operation with the Use of High-Performance Drop-in Fuels," AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum, January 6-11, 2019, San Diego (CA), AIAA 2019-0993.
• Flora, G., Cain J. P., Kahandawala, M.S.P., DeWitt, M., Corporan E., and Sidhu, S.S., “Time-dependent Speciation of Ethylene Combustion under Fuel Rich Conditions—a Novel Shock Tube Approach,” 9th US National Combustion Meeting, May 17-20, 2015, Cincinnati (OH), Paper 114RK-0266.
• Flora, G., Cain J. P., Kahandawala, M.S.P., DeWitt, M., Corporan E., and Sidhu, S.S., “The effect of Chain Branching on Ignition Delay of C5 and C7 Backbone Fuels: n-Pentane, iso-Octane, 2-Methylheptane and iso-Dodecane,” 9th US National Combustion Meeting, May 17-20, 2015, Cincinnati (OH), Paper 114RK-0263.
• Nagulapalli, A., Flora, G., Saxena, S., Kahandawala, M.S.P., DeWitt, M., Corporan E., and Sidhu S.S., “Ignition Delay Measurements of a Methylcyclohexane/O2/Ar Mixture over a Wide Range of Conditions,” Spring Technical Meeting of the Central States Section of the Combustion Institute, April. 22-24, 2012, Dayton (OH).
• Flora, G., Saxena, S., Kahandawala, M.S.P., and Sidhu S.S., “Investigation of Ignition Delay Time for n-Dodecane and n-Dodecane/m-Xylene Mixture,” 7th US National Combustion Meeting, March. 20-23, 2011, Atlanta (GA), Paper 2A19-RK71.
• Flora, G., Saxena, S., Kahandawala, M.S.P., DeWitt, M.J., Corporan E., and Sidhu S.S., “Ignition Delay Measurements for 2-Methylheptane/O2/Ar Mixtures Behind Reflected Shock Conditions,” 7th US National Combustion Meeting, March. 20-23, 2011, Atlanta (GA), Paper 2A13-RK73.
• Flora, G., Nagulapalli, A., Saxena, S., Kahandawala, M.S.P., and Sidhu S.S., “Simulation of Reflected Shock Combustion Experiments Using Multiple Computational Approaches,” 7th US National Combustion Meeting, March. 20-23, 2011, Atlanta (GA), Paper 2A06-RK72.
• Saxena, S., Flora, G., Kahandawala, M.S.P., and Sidhu S.S., “A Shock Tube Experimental Study and Kinetic Modeling of M-xylene Ignition Delay,” 49th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, January 4-7, 2011, Orlando (FL), AIAA 2011-314.
• Balagurunathan, J., Flora, G., Saxena, S., Kahandawala, M.S.P., and Sidhu S.S., “Ignition Delay Times of a Range of Alternate Jet Fuels and Surrogate Fuel Candidate Hydrocarbons under Fuel-Lean Conditions: a Shock Tube Study,” 49th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, January 4-7, 2011, Orlando (FL), AIAA 2011-696.