Douglas Proud

My research is primarily related to extending our understanding of "mild" combustion, a particular combustion regime which enables improvements in fuel flexibility and emissions reductions in practical devices. In particular, I am investigating changes in the mild combustion regime at elevated pressures, via both experimental methods and computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

As a Research Fellow within the School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, I am also involved in a number of Future Fuels CRC-funded projects, which collectively aim to address the key challenges in relation to the decarbonisation of Australia's energy pipelines. Specifically, these projects are directed towards understanding any potential impacts on the safety, emissions and performance of end-use combustion appliances resulting from the addition of hydrogen and/or bio-methane into the natural gas network. Additionally, the development of new and modified burner technologies which can operate safely and efficiently on 100% hydrogen as a carbon-free fuel is a central focus of our research.