Dr Frank Bruno 

Dr Frank Bruno attained his mechanical engineering degree with first class honours at the University of Adelaide and his PhD Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Australia. After completing his PhD he remained at the University, and has been involved in research, consultancy and teaching in the areas of thermal storage, low energy buildings, air conditioning, refrigeration and solar thermal.

He began research on phase change materials in 1996, and currently leads the research in that area at the Barbara Hardy Institute at the University of South Australia. At the Institute he also leads the research in the air conditioning area. Dr Bruno has authored or co-authored over 80 refereed journal and conference papers, 70 Engineering Technical reports and 1 Book Chapter.

Dr Bruno is a member of the Barbara Hardy Institute. Find out more about the Institute on our website or on facebook.

Barbara Hardy Institute

• Thermal Storage
• Air conditioning
• Renewable Energy
• Refrigeration
• Heat Transfer

Member, Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH)

Member, International Solar Energy Society (ISES)

Member, Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES)

Ph.D. (Mech. Eng.), University of South Australia, 1997

B.Eng.(Mech).Hons Class 1, University of Adelaide, 1991

• energy efficiency
• thermal storage and phase change materials
• renewable energy
• air conditioning
• low energy buildings
• heat pumps and refrigeration
• high temperature solar

Refereed Journals

Belusko M., Bruno F. & Saman W., Investigation of the thermal resistance of timber attic spaces with reflective foil and bulk insulation, heat flow up, Applied Energy, 88, 127–137, 2011.

Liu M., Saman W. & Bruno F., Validation of a mathematical model for encapsulated phase change material flat slabs for cooling applications, Applied Thermal Engineering, In Press, 2011.

Bruno, F., Pruebas in situ de un nuevo enfriador evaporativo indirecto, Frio, Calor, Aire Acondicionado, In Press 2011.

Tay N.H.S., Belusko M. & Bruno F., Experimental investigation of tubes in a phase change thermal energy storage system, Applied Energy, In Press, 2011.

Castell A., Belusko M., Bruno F. and Cabeza L, Maximization of heat transfer in a coil in tank PCM cold storage system. Applied Energy 88 (2011) 4120–4127, 2011.

Halawa E., Saman W. & Bruno F., A phase change processor method for solving a one-dimensional phase change problem with convection boundary, Renewable Energy, Volume 35, Issue 8, Pages 1688-1695, 2010.

Amin N.A.M., Belusko M. & Bruno F., Optimisation of a Phase Change Thermal Storage System, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, Issue 56, Pages 766-769, 2009.

Belusko M., Saman W. and Bruno F., Performance of jet impingement in unglazed air collectors, Solar Energy, 82, 389–398, 2008.

Bruno F., Using Phase Change Materials (PCMs) for Space Heating and Cooling in Buildings. EcoLibrium, Journal of Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air conditioning and Heating, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp 26-31, March 2005.

Saman W., Bruno F. & Halawa E., Thermal Performance of PCM Thermal Storage Unit for a Roof Integrated Solar Heating System. Solar Energy, Volume 78, Issue 2, Pages 341-349, 2005.

Halawa E., Bruno F. & Saman W., Numerical Analysis of a PCM Thermal Storage System with Varying Wall Temperature. Energy Conversion and Management, Volume 46, Issues 15-16, Pages 2592-2604, 2005.

Belusko M., Saman W. & Bruno F. Roof integrated solar heating system with glazed collector, Solar Energy, Volume 76, Issues 1-3 , Pages 61-69, 2004.

Bruno F. & Saman W., Heat pump systems for combined cooling and heating, Australian Refrigeration, Air Conditioning & Heating Journal , Vol. 53 No3 , pp 36-41, 1999.

Bruno F. & Saman W., Heat pumps for energy efficient simultaneous heating and cooling. International Journal of Renewable Energy, Vol. 15-16:4004, pp. 2296-2299, 1998.

Bruno F. & Saman W., Comparative performance of heat pump systems for combined milk cooling and water heating in a farm. International Journal of Revue Generale de Thermique, April, 1998.

Bruno F., De Maria S. & Saman W.Y., Analysis of the operation of a high pressure micro-compressor. International Journal of Energy Conversion and Management, Volume 37, No. 10, pp. 1517-1524, 1996.

Refereed Conference Papers

Bruno F., On-site testing of a novel indirect evaporative cooler. Proceedings of the 9th IIR Gustav Lorentzen Conference on Natural Working Fluids, 11-14 April 2010, Sydney.

Tay N., Bruno F. & Belusko M., Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer Tubes in a Phase Change Thermal Energy Storage System, Proceedings of the 9th IIR Gustav Lorentzen Conference on Natural Working Fluids, 11-14 April 2010, Sydney.

Timothy O’Leary, Martin Belusko, Frank Bruno, Achieving 6 star energy efficient housing cost effectively in Australian temperate climates, Proceedings of Central Europe towards Sustainable Building, 30.6. - 2.7.2010.

Tay N., Belusko M & Bruno F., “Experimental Investigation of Coils in a Phase Change Thermal Energy Storage System”, International Conference on Applied Energy (ICAE), ICAE2010, Singapore, 2010.

Bruno, F., An Indirect Evaporative Cooler for Supplying Air near the Dew Point, Proceedings of the 48th Annual Conference of the Australian Solar Energy Society, 2010.

Roach P., Bruno F. & Belusko M., Towards an understanding of the use of thermal mass in the cooling of commercial buildings. Proceedings of the 48th Annual Conference of the Australian Solar Energy Society, 2010.

Tay N.H.S, Bruno F. & Belusko M., Design Methodology for Coils in a Phase Change Thermal Energy Storage System using the Effectiveness-NTU method. Proceedings of the 48th Annual Conference of the Australian Solar Energy Society, 2010.

Belusko M., Pockett J., Bruno F. & Saman W., Summer Thermal Resistance Measurement of Timber Framed Roofing Systems and Benefits of Reflective Paints. Proceedings of the 48th Annual Conference of the Australian Solar Energy Society, 2010.

Sheoran S., Belusko M., Bruno F. & Saman W., Modelling of a Direct Contact Two Immiscible Phase Molten Salt System for High Temperature Solar Thermal Storage. Proceedings of the 48th Annual Conference of the Australian Solar Energy Society, 2010.

Bruno F., Testing of an Evaporative Cooling System that Supplies Air Near the Dew Point Temperature. Proceedings of Eurosun 2010 conference, Graz, Austria, 2010.

Bruno F., Belusko M. & Tay N., Design of PCM Thermal Storage System using the Effectiveness-NTU Method. Proceedings of Eurosun 2010 conference, Graz, Austria, 2010.

Belusko M., Bruno F. and Saman W., Thermal resistance of Australian roofing systems, In Proceedings of the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) International Conference 2009, Gold Coast, Australia, 2009.

Amin N.A.M., Belusko M. & Bruno F., Optimisation of a Phase Change Thermal Storage System, Proceeding of ICEE 2009: International Conference on Energy and Environment, 2009.

Amin N.A.M., Bruno F. and Belusko M., Maximizing the Energy Storage Performance of Phase Change Thermal Storage Systems, Proceedings of the IASTED International Conference on Solar Energy (SOE 2009).

Martin S.O., Lewis A., Bruno F., Saman W., Marshall A. and Jones T., Reduction of greenhouse emissions from the University of South Australia- learning to educate with less, Proceeding of ISES Solar World Congress 2009.

Wu X., Zhang J., Bruno F. & Belusko M., Numerical analysis on the thermal performance of chilled ceiling panels using encapsulated phase change material, 2009 IEEE 16th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, IE and EM 2009; Beijing; 21 – 23 October, 2009.

Belusko M. and Bruno F., Design methodology of PCM thermal storage systems with parallel plates, In Proceedings of the 2008 Eurosun Conference, Lisbon, Portugal, 2008.

Liu, M., Saman, W., & Bruno, F., „Development of a novel cooling system for refrigerated trucks incorporating phase change materials‟, in Proceedings of the 22nd International Congress of Refrigeration, Refrigeration Creates the Future, August 21-26, 2007, Beijing, P.R. China, (CD ROM).

Halawa E. , Bruno F. & Saman W., Potential application of combisystem for an Australian climatic region, Proceedings of ISES World Congress 2007 (Vol. I – Vol. V) Solar Energy and Human Settlement, 2007.

Ibrahim, S. Bari and F. Bruno, "A study on EGR utilization in natural gas SI engines using a two-zone combustion model", SAE 2007-01-2041, pp. 1294-1303, Japan, 23-26 July, 2007.

Liu, M, Bruno, F & Saman, W., 'Thermal Performance of a PCM Thermal Storage Unit', in Proceedings of ISES Solar World Congress 2007: Solar Energy and Human Settlement, Tsinghua University Press & Springer-Verlag, 2766-2771, Beijing, China, ISES Solar World Congress 2007, (SecretariatEds), 2007.

Liu M, Bruno F. & Saman W., Development of a low-cost Phase Change Material for Refrigerated Vehicles, Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference of ANZSES, 2006.

Belusko M., Saman W. and Bruno F, Analysis of a roof integrated solar air collector, In Proceedings of the International Solar Energy Society Solar World Congress, 2005, Orlando, Florida, USA, 2005.

Halawa, E., Saman, W., Bruno, W.: Simulation of a Roof Integrated Heating System with PCM Thermal Storage, Proc. ISES Solar World Congress, Orlando, Florida, August 6-12 2005.

Bruno F. & Saman W., Development of a PCM energy storage unit for solar air heating systems, Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference of ANZSES, 2004.

Saman W., Halawa E., Belusko M. & Bruno F., Thermal Performance of a Roof Integrated Solar Heating System with PCM Thermal Storage, World Renewable Energy Congress VIII, Denver, Colorado, 2004.

Bruno F. & Saman W., Utilization of PCM fibreboards for space heating. Proceedings of the 2001 International Solar Energy Society Congress, Adelaide, Australia, 25 30 November, 2003.

Belusko M., Saman W. & Bruno F., Roof integrated solar heating system with glazed collector, Proceedings of the 2001 International Solar Energy Society Congress, Adelaide, Australia, 25 30 November, 2003.

Bruno F. & Saman W., Testing of a PCM energy storage system for space heating. Proceedings of the World Renewable Energy Congress VII, Cologne, Germany, 2002.

Belusko M., Saman W. & Bruno F., Experimental study of a roof integrated solar collector in a solar heating system. Proceedings of the World Renewable Energy Congress VII, Cologne, Germany, 2002.

Bruno F., Simultaneous storage of heating and cooling from a heat pump. Proceedings of the 8th Int. Conf. on Thermal Energy Storage (TerraStock 2000), Stuttgart, Germany, 2000.

Bruno F., Performance evaluation of a heat pump system for simultaneous heating and cooling. Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference of the Australian & New Zealand Solar Energy Society, 29 November-1 December, Brisbane, Australia, pp 359-366, 2000.

Bruno F., Saman W. and DeMaria S., Energy analysis of a novelly-driven high-pressure micro-compressor. Paper 49, Proceedings of World Renewable Energy Congress, Perth, Australia, 1999.

Bruno F. & Saman W., Heat pump systems for combined cooling and heating. Proc. Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating Conference, Sydney, Australia, 1998.

Bruno F. & Saman W., Heat pumps for energy efficient simultaneous heating and cooling. Proceedings of the World Renewable Energy Congress V - Florence, Italy, 19-25 September, 1998.

Bruno F. & Saman W., Energy efficient simultaneous heating and cooling. Proc. 35th Annual Conference of The Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society, Canberra, Australia, 1997.

Bruno F., De Maria S. & Saman W.Y., Computer simulation of a compressor for direct injection gas fuelled engines. Proc. 5th Biennial IANGV International Conference, Malaysia, 1996.

Bruno F., Saman W.Y. & De Maria S., A mathematical model to predict the performance of a novelly-driven compressor for direct injection gas fuelled engines. Proc. 4th World Renewable Energy Congress, Denver, Colorado, 1996.

Bruno F., De Maria S. & Saman W.Y., The design of a compressor for direct injection gas fuelled engines. Proc. 5th Asia-Pacific Conference on Automotive Technology and Management, 1995.

De Maria S., Bruno F. & Saman W.Y., Analysis and testing of a high pressure micro-compressor. SAE Paper No. 950058 in Alternative fuels for low emissions and improved performance in CI and heavy duty engines (SP-1093), Society of Automotive Engineers, pages 45-53, 1995.

Bruno F., De Maria S. & Saman W.Y., Ideal cycle analysis of a high pressure micro-compressor for direct injection gas fuelled engines. Proc. International Conference on Fluid and Thermal Energy Conversion, Bali, Indonesia, 1994.

Bruno F., De Maria S. & Saman W.Y., A novelly-driven compressor for direct injection gas fuelled engines. Proc. 4th Biennial International Conference on Natural Gas Vehicles, Canada, 1994.

De Maria S., Bruno F. & Trowbridge C., VEPMAS: Vehicle and Engine Performance Monitoring and Analysis System. The Fourth Asia-Pacific Conference on Automotive Technology and Management (ASPACON’93), Singapore, March 1993.

I am able to provide media comment in the following areas of expertise:

Discipline: Engineering

• thermal storage and phase change materials
• low energy buildings
• air conditioning
• high temperature solar