Dr Belachew Tesfa

Currently Dr Tesfa is a research associate in the Centre for Diagnostic Engineering.  Dr Tesfa attained a first class honours BSc in Chemical Engineering and MSc in Mechanical Engineering in 2001 and 2006 respectively from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. Dr Tesfa then went on to work for LLPTI in the Ministry of Industry where he designed a new leather processing machine, drum using a grant from the Science and Technology Commission. In September 2006, he was awarded the prestigious Chevening scholarship from the UK government to attain his MEng in Environmental Engineering at Leeds University. In 2008 he was awarded a fee waiver scholarship from the University of Huddersfield to continue his PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Dr Tesfa was awarded a PhD in 2011 from the University of Huddersfield in CI Engine Performance and Emission Characteristics fuelled with Biodiesel under Steady and Transient Operating Conditions.

Dr Tesfa’s PhD work has contributed to four novel areas:

1. New density, viscosity and lower heating value prediction models have been developed by considering the combined effect of biodiesel content and temperature to estimate the physical properties of biodiesel mixture at various temperatures.
2. A universal transient emission prediction model has been developed using steady state data for a range of engine operation conditions.
3. An on-line prediction model for NOx using in-cylinder pressure generated within a CI engine along with air mass flow during both steady and transient phenomena has been developed.
4. A novel method to reduce NOx emission by 50% for CI engines fuelled with biodiesel has been developed and integrated by direct water injection at intake manifold.

Dr Tesfa has published 15 papers in various journals and conference proceedings and has chaired various international conferences. Some of the papers published by Dr Tesfa in the Journal of Renewable Energy were among the best articles in 2010.  Dr Tesfa has also developed interactive Amharic (Ethiopian national language) teaching DVD for Ethiopian children living back home and throughout the world.

Dr Tesfa lives with his daughter Yordanos and his wife Melat.

Currently Dr Tesfa has carried out research on developing a novel clamping force measurement system for Network Rail. Through his current research role, Tesfa is currently pursuing research interests around: developing sensors for clamping force measurement, investigating the metal emission of railway transport and using the emission for condition monitoring, developing a novel renewable fuel and developing new emission reduction techniques for the transport sector.

2013

Tesfa, B., Gu, F., Mishra, R. and Ball, A. (2013) ‘LHV Predication Models and LHV Effect on the Performance of CI Engine Running with Biodiesel Blends’ Energy Conversion and Management , 71, pp. 217-226. ISSN 0196-8904

Zhen, D., Wang, T., Gu, F., Tesfa, B. and Ball, A. (2013) ‘Acoustic measurements for the combustion diagnosis of diesel engines fuelled with biodiesels’ Measurement Science and Technology , 24 (5), p. 055005. ISSN 0957-0233

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R., Gu, F. and Ball, A. (2013) ‘Combustion and Performance Characteristics of CI Engine Running with Biodiesel’ Energy , 51 (1), pp. 101-115. ISSN 0360-5442

2012

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R., Asim, T. and Pradhan, S. (2012) ‘Drill Bit Performance Investigation Using Computational Fluid Dynamics’. In: Proceedings of the Thirty Ninth 39th National Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Power, 13th - 15th December 2012, SVNIT Surat, Gujarat, India , p. 10

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R., Asim, T. and Pradhan, S. (2012) ‘Drill Bit Performance Investigation Using Computational Fluid Dynamics’. In: 39th National Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Power, 13-15 December 2012, Surat, India

Tesfa, B., Gu, F., Mishra, R. and Ball, A. (2012) ‘Performance of CI Engines Fuelled with Biodiesel Blends during Transient Operations’. In: Powertrain Modelling and Control Testing, Mapping and Calibration, 4th -6th September 2012, University of Bradford

Tesfa, B., Horler, G., Al Thobiani, F., Gu, F. and Andrew, b. (2012) ‘A clamping force measurement system for monitoring the condition of bolted joints on railway track joints and points ’. In: 25th International Congress on Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic Engineering, 18th-20th June 2012, University of Huddersfield, United kingdom

Tesfa, B., Horler, G., Al Thobiani, F., Gu, F. and Ball, A. (2012) ‘A clamping force measurement system for monitoring the condition of bolted joints on railway track joints and points’ Journal of Physics: Conference Series , 364, p. 012021. ISSN 1742-6596

Zhen, D., Tesfa, B., Yuan, X., Wang, R., Gu, F. and Ball, A. (2012) ‘An investigation of the acoustic characteristics of a compression ignition engine operating with biodiesel blends’ Journal of Physics: Conference Series , 364, p. 012015. ISSN 1742-6596

Raharjo, P., Tesfa, B., Gu, F. and Ball, A. (2012) ‘A Comparative Study of the Monitoring of a Self Aligning Spherical Journal using Surface Vibration, Airborne Sound and Acoustic Emission’ Journal of Physics: Conference Series , 364, p. 012035. ISSN 1742-6596

Tesfa, B., Gu, F., Anyakwo, A., Al Thobiani, F. and Ball, A. (2012) ‘Prediction of metal pm emission in rail tracks for condition monitoring application ’. In: Railway Condition Monitoring and Non-Destructive Testing (RCM 2011), 5th IET Conference on. London: IET. pp. 1-6.

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R., Gu, F. and Ball, A. (2012) ‘Water Injection Effects on the Performance and Emission Characteristics of a CI Engine Operating with Biodiesel’ Renewable Energy , 37 (1), pp. 333-344. ISSN 0960-1481

2011

Tesfa, B., Gu, F., Anyakwo, A., Al Thobiani, F. and Ball, A. (2011) ‘Prediction of metal pm emission in rail tracks for condition monitoring application’. In: RCM 2011: The 5th IET conference on Railway Condition Monitoring and Non-Destructive Testing, 29-30 Nov 2011, Derby, UK , pp. 1-6

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R., Zhang, C., Gu, F. and Ball, A. (2011) ‘NOx Prediction Based on Cylinder Pressure Measurement for Engine Emission Monitoring ’. In: Proceedings of the 24th International Congress on Condition Monitoring and Diagnostics Engineering Management. Norway: COMADEM. p. 212. ISBN 0954130723

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R., Zhang, C., Gu, F. and Ball, A. (2011) ‘NOx Prediction Based on Cylinder Pressure Measurement for Engine Emission Monitoring’. In: Proceedings of the 24th International Congress on Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic Engineering Management (COMADEM 2011). : COMADEM. pp. 1330-1340. ISBN 0954130723

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R., Gu, F. and Ball, A. (2011) ‘Combustion Characteristics of CI Engine Running with Biodiesel Blends’. In: International Conference on Renewable Energies and Power Quality (ICREPQ'11), 13-15 April 2011, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain , pp. 1-8

2010

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R., Gu, F. and Powles, N. (2010) ‘Prediction Models for Density and Viscosity of Biodiesel and their Effects on Fuel Supply System in CI Engines’ Renewable Energy , 35 (12), pp. 2752-2760. ISSN 0960-1481

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R. and Gu, F. (2010) ‘Behavior of a CI Engine Running by Biodiesel under Transient Conditions ’. In: SAE International Congress & Exposition"( 13-15 April 2010), Detroit, Michigan, USA, 13- 15 April 2010, Detroit, MI, USA , pp. 1-11

2009

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R. and Gu, F. (2009) ‘Performance of Compression Ignition (CI) Engine Running on Biodiesel during Transient Condition’. In: Thirty Sixth National Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Power, 17- 19 December 2009, Pune, India , pp. 1-10

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R., Gu, F. and Ball, A. (2009) ‘Predicting specific gravity and viscosity of biodiesel fuels’. In: Proceedings of Computing and Engineering Annual Researchers' Conference 2009: CEARC’09. Huddersfield: University of Huddersfield. pp. 38-44. ISBN 9781862180857

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R., Gu, F. and Ball, A. (2009) ‘Transient process modeling for condition monitoring of compression ignition (CI) engine’. In: Proceedings of the 12th EAEC European Automotive Congress 2009. : European Automotive Congress . . ISBN 9788096924387

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R., Gu, F. and Ball, A. (2009) ‘Condition Monitoring of CI engine running on Biodiesel using Transient Process’ Key Engineering Materials , 413-14, pp. 495-503. ISSN 1013-9826

Tesfa, B., Mishra, R., Gu, F. and Fieldhouse, J. (2009) ‘Investigation Of Transient Characteristics For Performance Improvement And Health Monitoring For a CI Engine Running Biodiesel’. In: University of Huddersfield Research Festival, 23rd March - 2nd April 2009, University of Huddersfield

Available projects:

• Water Injection System Development for NOx Reduction in Compression Ignition (CI) Engine [PhD/MSc by Research]
• Investigation into the self-loosening behaviour of bolted joints subjected to different load conditions [PhD]
• Fault Detection for Train Suspensions Based on System Dynamic Interactions [PhD]
• Turbocharger performance parameters application for condition monitoring in combustion engines running with alternative fuels [PhD]
• Advanced Tools for Condition Monitoring of Mechanical Seals [PhD]