Dr Tristan Vanyai

Lecturer

School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
t.vanyai@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 51287

Overview

Dr Tristan Vanyai's research interests are in the fields of hypersonic propulsion, aerodynamics, combustion visualisation and laser diagnostics, using both experimental and numerical techniques.

Dr Vanyai received his Doctor of Philosophy from The University of Queensland in 2018, after completing a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering (First Class Honours) and Bachelor of Science double degree at Monash University in 2012.

His research focuses on fundamentals of hypersonic propulsion through the scramjet cycle. Robust combustion within low intake compression scramjets is a key technology enabler for hypersonic accelerator vehicles, and can be achieved through utilising techniques such as thermal compression. Dr Vanyai is examining the improvements to scramjet combustion due to thermal compression through experiments in the T4 Stalker Tube facility using advanced optical techniques and comparison with results from numerical simulations.

Research Interests

  • Hypersonic Propulsion and Aerodynamics
  • Combustion Visualisation
  • Laser Diagnostics

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor (Honours), Monash University
  • Bachelor of Science, Monash University

Publications

View all Publications

Grants

View all Grants

Supervision

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • Dr Tristan Vanyai has funding for a PHD project examining performance of fundamental scramjet engines. By encouraging non-uniformity in a scramjet flow path, local regions can become hot enough to ignite fuel-air mixtures in combustors that would otherwise have average, overall temperatures that are too low. This process has been shown numerically and experimentally to improve performance for hydrogen fuel at specific flight conditions, however we must examine whether an access-to-space vehicle’s performance is improved over the full hypersonic trajectory. In this project, a student will conduct numerical simulations and/or experiments with combustion visualisation to examine performance improvements over a baseline, uniform flow path.

    If you are interested in this topic, please contact t.vanyai@uq.edu.au

View all Available Projects

Publications

Featured Publications

Journal Article

Conference Publication

  • Trudgian, Matthew A., Russell, Hugh, Vanyai, Tristan and Veeraragavan, Ananthanarayanan (2023). Commissioning of a Supercritical Ethylene Fuel Injection System in the T4 Hypersonic Impulse Facility. 25th AIAA International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference, Bengaluru, India, 28 May - 1 June 2023. Reston, Virginia: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi: 10.2514/6.2023-3025

  • McTaggart, Lachlan and Vanyai, Tristan (2023). Commercial Potential Evaluation of Scramjet Powered Vehicles for Access-to-Space. Reston, Virginia: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi: 10.2514/6.2023-2685

  • Sandral, Jacob, Vanyai, Tristan, Veeraragavan, Anand and Wheatley, Vincent (2022). Supersonic ethylene boundary layer combustion with a mutli-porthole injector array. 23rd Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 4-8 December 2022. Perth, WA, Australia: Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society.

  • Gibbons, Nicholas N., Vanyai, Tristan and Wheatley, Vincent (2022). Large eddy simulation of multiport injector array transition. 2nd International Conference on High-Speed Vehicle Science & Technology, Bruges, Belgium, 11-15 September 2022.

  • Sandral, J., Vanyai, T., Veeraragavan, A. and Wheatley, V. (2021). Hydrogen boundary layer combustion with multi-porthole injector arrays. Australian Combustion Symposium 2021, Toowoomba, QLD Australia, 21-24 November 2021. Sydney, NSW Australia: Australia and New Zealand Combustion Institute.

  • Vanyai, T. and Gibbons, N. N. (2021). Atomic Oxygen in Supersonic Combustion Experiment Inflows. The Australian Combustion Symposium 2021, Toowoomba, QLD Australia, 21-24 November 2021. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Australian Combustion Symposium.

  • Street, Oliver, Landsberg, Will O., Vanyai, Tristan, Razzaqi, Sarah A. and Veeraragavan, Anand (2021). Experimental design for investigating hydrocarbon injection in a hypersonic inlet. ASCEND 2021, Las Vegas, NV United States, 15-17 November 2021. Reston, VA United States: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi: 10.2514/6.2021-4120

  • Vanyai, Tristan, Grieve, Sam, Street, Oliver, Denman, Zachary, McIntyre, Timothy, Veeraragavan, Anand, Wheatley, Vincent and Smart, Michael (2018). Fundamental scramjet combustion experiments using hydrocarbon fuel. AIAA International Space Planes and Hypersonics Systems and Technologies Conference, AIAA SPACE Forum, Orlando, FL, United States, 17–19 September 2018. Reston, VA United States: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi: 10.2514/6.2018-5201

  • Geraets, Rowland T. Penty, McGilvray, Matthew, Doherty, Luke J., Morgan, Richard G., James, Christopher M., Vanyai, Tristan and Buttsworth, David R. (2017). Development of a fast-response calorimeter gauge for hypersonic ground testing. AIAA Aerodynamic Measurement Technology and Ground Testing Conference, Denver, CO, United States, 5-9 June 2017. Reston, VA, United States: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautic. doi: 10.2514/6.2017-3238

  • Geraets, Rowland T. Penty, McGilvray, Matthew, Doherty, Luke J., Morgan, Richard G., James, Christopher M., Vanyai, Tristan and Buttsworth, David R. (2017). Development of a fast-response calorimeter heat transfer gauge for hypersonic ground testing. 33rd AIAA Aerodynamic Measurement Technology and Ground Testing Conference, Denver, Colorado, 5-9 June 2017. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA.

  • Vanyai, Tristan, Brieschenk, Stefan and McIntyre, Timothy J (2017). OH imaging in a non-uniform, hydrogen-fueled scramjet engine. 11th Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion, ASPACC 2017, Sydney, Australia, 10-14 December 2017. Sydney, Australia: Combustion Institute.

  • Vanyai, Tristan , Bricalli, Mathew , Sopek, Tamara , Brieschenk, Stefan , McIntyre, Timothy J. and Boyce, Russell (2015). An experimental investigation of a thermal compression scramjet with OH imaging. 20th AIAA International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference, Glasgow, Scotland, 6-9 July 2015. Reston, VA, United States: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi: 10.2514/6.2015-3610

  • Banerjee, Sanchito, Vanyai, Tristan, Wang, Zhongjie, Baur, Bernhard and Holzapfel, Florian (2014). L1 augmentation configuration for a lateral/directional manoeuvre of a hypersonic glider in the presence of uncertainties. 19th AIAA International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference 2014, Atlanta, GA, United States, 16-20 June 2014. Reston, VA, United States: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi: 10.2514/6.2014-2533

  • Vanyai, Tristan, Bricalli, Mathew, Brieschenk, Stefan and Boyce, Russell R. (2014). Quasi-one-dimensional investigation of combustion processes on scramjet performance. 19th AIAA International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference 2014, Atlanta, GA, United States, 16-20 June 2014. Reston, VA, United States: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi: 10.2514/6.2014-2786

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Dr Tristan Vanyai has funding for a PHD project examining performance of fundamental scramjet engines. By encouraging non-uniformity in a scramjet flow path, local regions can become hot enough to ignite fuel-air mixtures in combustors that would otherwise have average, overall temperatures that are too low. This process has been shown numerically and experimentally to improve performance for hydrogen fuel at specific flight conditions, however we must examine whether an access-to-space vehicle’s performance is improved over the full hypersonic trajectory. In this project, a student will conduct numerical simulations and/or experiments with combustion visualisation to examine performance improvements over a baseline, uniform flow path.

    If you are interested in this topic, please contact t.vanyai@uq.edu.au