Frank J. Cunha

Professor of Practice, Mechanical Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering

Professor-of-Practice, MANE, RPI 2016 - Present, UCONN 2013 – 2015 Mechanical Engineering Department, United Technologies Pratt-Whitney Nov 1999 – March 2015 and April 1998 – Oct 1998 Development Leader for design of military and commercial aircraft engines, turbines, combustors and afterburners 100 US patents, Siemens-Westinghouse Corporation  Oct 1998 – Nov 1999 and March 1997 – April 1998 Principal Engineer development of land-based gas turbines 2 patents, General Electric Company Jan 1990 – Oct 1996 and June 1979 – Dec 1980 Edison and Staff Engineer responsible for the development of  heavy-duty gas turbines 14 patents, Public Service Electric and Gas Company March 1981 – August 1989 Electrical Power Generation Staff Engineer.

Education

Ph. D., Mechanical Engineering, New York University.

Research Focus
  • Turbomachinery development
  • Advanced Thermodynamics and Energy Systems
  • Solid and Fluid Mechanics
  • Computer modeling and simulation
Contact cunhaf@rpi.edu
Select Works
  • Cunha, F.J., Gas Turbine Heat Transfer, Turbine Aerodynamics, Heat Transfer, Materials and Mechanics, Progress and Astronautics and Aeronautics, Vol. 243, ISBN-13: 978-1624102639, September, 2014.
  • Cunha, F.J., Turbine Heat Transfer Analysis, Gas Turbine Handbook, United States Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, 2006
  • Cunha, F.J., Trailing Edge Cooling for Gas Turbines, Special Section on Turbine Science and Technology, AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power, April 2006.
  • Cunha, F.J., Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Technologies VII “Turbine Edge Cooling, United States Air Force, Air Force Material Command, Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Research Laboratory, May, 2003.
  • Cunha, F.J., Enhanced Turbine Airfoil Lifing for Long Hot Missions, United States Air Force, Air Force Material Command, Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Research Laboratory, May, 2003.
  • “Heat Transfer on Internal Surfaces of a Duct Subjected to Impingement of a Jet Array with Varying Jet Hole-Size and Spacing”, Journal of Turbomachinery, Vol.128, 2006.
  • “Effects of Coating Blockage and Deposit on Film-Cooling Effectiveness and Surface Heat Transfer”, AIAA 2006-0024, 2006
  • Thermal-Mechanical Life Prediction System for Anisotropic Turbine Components Journal of Turbomachinery, TURBO-05-1110, 2005