Michael A. Delichatsios

Major Papers for a Book - Michael Delichatsios - 2025

Buoyant Jets and Jet Flames

Strong turbulent buoyant plumes. I. Similarity
MA Delichatsios, Combustion Science and Technology 24 (5-6), 191-195

Time similarity analysis of unsteady buoyant plumes in neutral surroundings
MA Delichatsios, Journal of Fluid Mechanics 93 (2), 241-250

The initial convective flow in fire
G Heskestad, MA Delichatsios, Symposium (international) on combustion 17 (1), 1113-1123

Strong turbulent buoyant plumes. I. Similarity
MA Delichatsios, Combustion Science and Technology 24 (5-6), 191-195

Entrainment measurements in turbulent buoyant jet flames and implications for modelling
MA Delichatsios, L Orloff, Symposium (International) on Combustion 20 (1), 367-375

Chemical modelling of gaseous species in turbulent fires
L Orloff, J De Ris, MA Delichatsios, L Orloff, Factory Mutual Research Symposium (International) on Combustion 20 (1), 367-375

Simple correlation for the rise in free surface caused by submerged jets directed upward
MA Delichatsios, AIChE journal 32 (3), 526-528

Turbulent-flow characterization and radiation from gaseous fuel jets. final report, April 1985-October 1987
MA Delichatsios, GH Markstein, L Orloff, J de Ris, Factory Mutual Research Corp., Norwood, MA (USA)

Air entrainment into buoyant jet flames and pool fires
MA Delichatsios, Combustion and Flame 70 (1), 33-46

On the similarity of velocity and temperature profiles in strong (variable density) turbulent buoyant plumes
MA Delichatsios, Combustion science and technology 60 (4-6), 253-266

Effects of turbulence on flame radiation from diffusion flames
MA Delichatsios, L Orloff, Symposium (International) on Combustion 22 (1), 1271-1279

The outflow of buoyant releases including fire gases from a long corridor closed at one end
MA Delichatsios

Radiation from buoyant turbulent diffusion flames
L Orloff, J De Ris, MA Delichatsios, Combustion science and technology 84 (1-6), 177-186, 1992

The effects of fuel sooting tendency and the flow on flame radiation in luminous turbulent jet flames
MA Delichatsios, L Orloff, MM Delichatsios, Combustion science and technology 84 (1-6), 199-215,1992

Transition from momentum to buoyancy-controlled turbulent jet diffusion flames and flame height relationships
MA Delichatsios, Combustion and Flame 92 (4), 349-364,1993

Notes on the similarity of turbulent buoyant fire plumes with large density variations
PH Thomas, MA Delichatsios, Fire safety journal 42 (1), 43-50,2007

Enclosure Fires

The flow of fire gases under a beamed ceiling
MA Delichatsios, Combustion and Flame 43, 1-10,

Mass pyrolysis rates and excess pyrolysate in fully developed enclosure fires
MA Delichatsios, GWH Silcock, X Liu, M Delichatsios, YP Lee, Fire Safety Journal 39 (1), 1-21, 2004

Heat fluxes and flame heights in facades from fires in enclosures of varying geometry
YP Lee, MA Delichatsios, GWH Silcock, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 31 (2), 2521-2528,2007

Flame behavior from an opening at different elevations on the facade wall of a fire compartment
K Lu, Z Wang, Y Ding, J Wang, J Zhang, MA Delichatsios, L Hu, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 38 (3), 4551-4559, 2021

An experimental investigation of burning behaviour of liquid pool fire in corridor-like enclosures
KE Chotzoglou, EK Asimakopoulou, J Zhang, MA Delichatsios, Fire safety journal 108, 102826, 2019

Experimental investigation of externally venting flames geometric characteristics and impact on the façade of corridor-like enclosures
K Chotzoglou, E Asimakopoulou, J Zhang, M Delichatsios, Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1107 (4), 042023, 2018

Fire spill plume from a compartment with dual symmetric openings under cross wind
W Gao, N Liu, M Delichatsios, X Yuan, Y Bai, H Chen, L Zhang, Combustion and Flame 167, 409-421,2018

Flammability Properties and Flame Spread

Model for the breakup rate of spherical drops in isotropic turbulent flows
MA Delichatsios, The Physics of Fluids 18 (6), 622-623

Fire growth rates in wood cribs
MA Delichatsios, Combustion and Flame 27, 267-278

An analytical model for the pyrolysis of charring materials
MA Delichatsios, J De Ris, Factory Mutual Research

Exact solution for the rate of creeping flame spread over thermally thin materials
MA Delichatsios, Combustion Science and Technology 44 (5-6), 257-267

Asymptotic, approximate, and numerical solutions for the heatup and pyrolysis of materials including reradiation losses
MA Delichatsios, Y Chen, Combustion and flame 92 (3), 292-307

A phenomenological model for smoke-point and soot formation in laminar flames
MA Delichatsios, Combustion science and technology 100 (1-6), 283-298,1994

Creeping flame spread: some new results and interpretation for material flammability characterization
Y Chen, MA Delichatsios, Combustion and flame 99 (3-4), 601-609,1994

Material pyrolysis properties, Part II: methodology for the derivation of pyrolysis properties for charring materials
Y Chen, V Motevalli, MA Delichatsios, Combustion science and technology 104 (4-6), 401-425,1995

Critical conditions for upward flame spread and comparison with empirical flammability indices
MA Delichatsios, Combustion science and technology 106 (1-3), 125-136,1995

Similarity solutions and applications to turbulent upward flame spread on noncharring materials
MA Delichatsios, M Delichatsios, Y Chen, Y Hasemi, Combustion and Flame 102 (3), 357-370,1995

Creeping flame spread: energy balance and application to practical materials
MA Delichatsios, Symposium (International) on Combustion 26 (1), 1495-1503,1996

Measurements of particle flame temperatures using three-color optical pyrometry
T Panagiotou, Y Levendis, M Delichatsios, Combustion and Flame 104 (3), 272-287,1996

Inherently unsteady flame spread to extinction over thick fuels in microgravity
RA Altenkirch, L Tang, K Sacksteder, S Bhattacharjee, MA Delichatsios, Symposium (International) on Combustion 27 (2), 2515-2524,1996

Creeping flame spread along fuel cylinders in forced and natural flows and microgravity
MA Delichatsios, RA Altenkirch, MF Bundy, S Bhattacharjee, LIN Tang, ..., Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 28 (2), 2835-2842, 2000

Flame heat fluxes and correlations of upward flame spread along vertical cylinders in various oxygen environments
MA Delichatsios Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 28 (2), 2899-2904,2000

Relation of opposed flow (creeping) flame spread with extinction/ignition
MA Delichatsios, Combustion and flame 135 (4), 441-447,2003

Competition Between Pyrolysis Kinetics and Surface Radiation in Opposed-Flow Flame Spread in a Microgravity Environment
S Bhattacharjee, M Delichatsios, 51st International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2022

"People who wish to analyze nature without using mathematics must settle for a reduced understanding."
- Richard Feynman

Esteem

Prizes, Visiting Professorships, Committees.

1. Gordon Moore Foundation Grantee
2. Leverhulme Emeritus Scholarship
3. Combustion Institute Fellow
4. Adjunct Professor, University of Canterbury, NZ , Fire Research, 2019-
5. Erskine Fellowship at the Canterbury University, NZ, 2018-2019
6. Howard Emmons award 11 IAFSS (International Association Fire Safety Science) Symposium, February 2014
7. Senior Distinguished Research Fellow, University of Ulster, December 2013
8. Invited lecture for Fire Education in Asia, Japan 2013
9. Invited lecture and award for career achievements in Modeling Fires by the Spanish fire research organization GIDAI, 2012
10. Co-chairman of the Fire Colloquium of the 33rd Combustion Institute Symposium in Beijing China, 2010
11. Visiting Professor at USTC China, 2010-
12. Best paper by my student at the IAFSS conference in Karlsruhe Germany, 2009
13. Reviewer in several journals and international conferences - continuous
14. Advisory Board of the Journal of Fire Safety Science and Technology, 2004-
15. Visiting Professor at the COE in Fire at the Tokyo University of Science, 2003 –
16. Co-joint Professor at the University of Newcastle Australia, 2001-
17. Paper chairman and Editor for the Fifth Asia-Oceania Symposium on Fire Science and Technology, 2001
18. Chairman of WG8 in ISOTC92 fire safety committee, 2000-2005
19. Visiting Professor at BRI (Building Research Institute) Japan, 1990, 1993, 2001-
20. Best paper in The Australian Combustion Institute meeting in Newcastle Australia, 1999
21. Paper chairman for USA for the Fourth IAFSS meeting, 1995
22. Visiting Professor at the University of Poitiers, 1992
23. Visiting Professor at the Technical University of Athens, 1991
24. Recipient of the first medal of mathematical society of Greece, 1962
25. Highest mark (57/60) in the entrance examination for the University System in Greece, 1962
26. Member of CI (Combustion Institute), ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) USA, IAFSS (International Association of Fire Safety Science), SFPE (Society of Fire Protection Engineers) USA, AOFST ( Asian Oceania Association for Fire Safety and Technology), Society for Fire Safety (SFS) Australia

Brief Outline of Career History

• 2017 - present: Northeastern University, USTC (China), Ulster University, Renewable Resources Associates
• 2002-2016: FireSERT at University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Northern Ireland
• 2001-2002: Consulting Engineer on Fire Safe Materials, Australia
• 1997-2001: Technical Director of Fire Science and Technology Laboratory at CSIRO, Australia
• 1976-1997: Factory Mutual Research, Manager Material Flammability Section, USA
• 1985-1990: Adjunct Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA

Selected Grants after 2003

Total for FireSERT: £7 million, Personal research: £2,500,000 and R&D £150,000.

• 2021: Gordon Moore Foundation contract grant for using liquid nitrogen for fire extinction, $500,000
• 2019: Leverhulme grant
• 2016: EENSULATE, Design of fire safe advanced glazing, European community, £300,000
• 2014: AWE (Atomic Weapons Establishment) Mass fires, £108,000
• 2014: Royal Engineering Society award, Travel fund, £12,000
• 2014: FP7 Lightweight construction for fire ELISSA, £350,000
• 2014: EPSRC high computing facilities 5% of my time
• 2013: Fire Retardant materials, FRX, £5,000
• 2014: NFPA USA External Façade fires with CSIRO Australia, £10,000
• 2010-2014: FP7 project on aircraft safety AICRAFTFIRE, £350,000
• 2008-2011: Discovery project in cooperation with Prof. Dlugogorski on fire contamination form sugar canes, Australia, £30,000
• 2010: European project ENFIRO on replacing Brominated Fire Retardants, 400,000 Euros for ULSTER
• 2006-2009: Discovery Project - Formation of organic pollutants in fires of treated and contaminated wood”, Dlugogorski, Kennedy, Mackie and Delichatsios, Australia, £30,000 (AU$600,000)
• 2007-2010: EPSRC grant on Façade Fires, £176,000
• 2005-2010: STREP European project FP6 PREDFIRE, 2,000,000 Euros
• 2003-2008: ODPM fire safety engineering research, £24,000 per year
• 2003-2006: Firenet European project, £99,000
• 2003-2004: FUSION project, £22,000
• 2003-2004: ARC (Australian Research Council), AU$425,000

Major publications up to 2019

All publications can be found on Google Scholar .

Proceedings of The Combustion Institute: publications

1. YP Lee, MA Delichatsios, GWH Silcock Heat fluxes and flame heights in facades from fires in enclosures of varying geometry, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 31 (2), 2521-2528, 2007
2. RA Altenkirch, L Tang, K Sacksteder, S Bhattacharjee, MA Delichatsios, Inherently unsteady flame spread to extinction over thick fuels in microgravity, Symposium (International) on Combustion 27 (2), 2515-2524, 1998
3. MA Delichatsios, RA Altenkirch, MF Bundy, S Bhattacharjee, L Tang ,Creeping flame spread along fuel cylinders in forced and natural flows and microgravity, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 28 (2), 2835-2842, 2000
4. MA Delichatsios, L Orloff, Effects of turbulence on flame radiation from diffusion flames, Symposium (International) on Combustion 22 (1), 1271-1279, 1989
5. MA Delichatsios, J De Ris, L Orloff, An enhanced flame radiation burner, Symposium (International) on Combustion 24 (1), 1075-1082, 1992,1992
6. MA Delichatsios, Creeping flame spread: Energy balance and application to practical materials, Symposium (International) on Combustion 26 (1), 1495-1503, 1996
7. L Hu, X Zhang, MA Delichatsios, L Wu, C Kuang , Pool fire flame base drag behavior with cross flow in a sub-atmospheric pressure , Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 36 (2), 3105-3112, 2017
8. J Dai, MA Delichatsios, L Yang, J Zhang , Piloted ignition and extinction for solid fuels,Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 34 (2), 2487-2495, 2013
9. 9. J Dai, M Delichatsios, L Yang, Piloted ignition of solid fuels at low ambient pressure and varying igniter location, Proceedings of Combustion Institute 34, 2497-2503,2013
10. Y Chen, V Motevalli, MA Delichatsios, PA Tatem, Prediction of horizontal flame spread using a theoretical and experimental approach, Symposium (International) on Combustion 27 (2), 2797-2805, 1998
11. X Zhang, L Hu, MA Delichatsios, J Zhang, Experimental study and analysis on flame lengths induced by wall-attached fire impinging upon an inclined ceiling, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 37 (3), 3879-3887, 2019
12. 12. D Jiakun, MA Delichatsios, Y Lizhong, Piloted ignition of solid fuels at low ambient pressure and varying igniter location, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 34 (2), 2497-2503, 2013

Combustion and Flame: publications

1. MA Delichatsios, Transition from momentum to buoyancy-controlled turbulent jet diffusion flames and flame height relationships, Combustion and Flame 92 (4), 349-364, 1993
2. MA Delichatsios, Air entrainment into buoyant jet flames and pool fires ,Combustion and Flame 70 (1), 33-46, 1987
3. MA Delichatsios, TH Panagiotou, F Kiley,The use of time to ignition data for characterizing the thermal inertia and the minimum (critical) heat flux for ignition or pyrolysis, Combustion and Flame 84 (3-4), 323-332, 1991
4. L Hu, K Lu, M Delichatsios, L He, F Tang, An experimental investigation and statistical characterization of intermittent flame ejecting behavior of enclosure fires with an opening, Combustion and Flame 159 (3), 1178-1184, 2012
5. MA Delichatsios, Y Chen , Asymptotic, approximate, and numerical solutions for the heatup and pyrolysis of materials including reradiation losses, Combustion and Flame 92 (3), 292-307, 1993
6. T Beji, JP Zhang, W Yao, M Delichatsios ,A novel soot model for fires: validation in a laminar non-premixed flame, Combustion and Flame 158 (2), 281-290, 2011
7. MA Delichatsios ,Relation of opposed flow (creeping) flame spread with extinction/ignition, Combustion and flame 135 (4), 441-447, 2003
8. R Khatami, YA Levendis, MA Delichatsios, Soot loading, temperature and size of single coal particle envelope flames in conventional-and oxy-combustion conditions (O2/N2 and O2/CO2), Combustion and Flame 162 (6), 2508-2517, 2015
9. L Orloff, J De Ris, MA Delichatsios, Chemical effects on molecular species concentrations in turbulent fires, Combustion and flame 69 (3), 273-289, 1987
10. Y Chen, MA Delichatsios, Creeping flame spread: Some new results and interpretation for material flammability characterization, Combustion and flame 99 (3-4), 601-609, 1994
11. F Ren, L Hu, X Zhang, X Sun, J Zhang, M Delichatsios, Experimental study of transitional behavior of fully developed under-ventilated compartment fire and associated facade flame height evolution, Combustion and Flame 208, 235-245, 2019
12. F Nmira, JL Consalvi, MA Delichatsios, Radiant fraction from sooting jet fires , Combustion and Flame 208, 51-62, 2019
13. Q Wang, L Hu, SH Yoon, S Lu, M Delichatsios, SH Chung, Blow-out limits of nonpremixed turbulent jet flames in a cross flow at atmospheric and sub-atmospheric pressures, Combustion and Flame 162 (10), 3562-3568, 2015

Other Journals

1. CST: 15
2. IAFSS :33
3. Fuel: 4
4. Fire Safety Journal: 28
5. International Heat and Mass Transfer: 4
6. Fire Materials and other: 15

International Symposia on Combustion and other meetings

• Presented at the 33, 34, 35 ,36 ,37,38
• Presented at the Mediterranean Symposium on Combustion,2013,2015 ,2018 Eastern Section of the combustion Institute, USA, 1978-1995
• Co-chairman of the Fire Colloquium of the 33rd Combustion Institute Symposium, 2010 in Beijing China

Patents

1. “Method of Apparatus for Continuous Flow Flocculation and Clarification” U.S. Patent Application, Serial No. 446.666. Filed February 28, 1979 (with R.F. Probstein).
2. “An Industrial Gas Burner with Enhanced Radiant Output” Patent Disclosure, January 1988, US Patent 5248252 1993 (with J. deRis and G.H. Markstein).

Research Interests

• Façade fires
• Tunnel fires
• Fire Dynamics (flame spread, turbulence in fires, radiation, heat transfer, physical and mathematical modeling)
• Material Flammability (thermal, ignition and extinction properties, fire resistance, molecular dynamics)
• Modeling from nanoscale to large scale material flammability

Education

• Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Ph.D. Thesis “Turbulent Coagulation in Turbulent Flows with Application to Wastewater Treatment”, 1976
• Ms in Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Master Thesis: “Oil Booms in Rough Seas”, 1971
• Diploma In Mechanical Engineering, National University of Athens, 1967