Frank J. Cunha

Professor of Practice, Rensselaer at Work
Programs Taught
Mechanical Engineering
Year Joined RPI
2016
Other Certificates and Licenses
- P.E. License
- ASME Fellow
- ICHMT Member
- ASME-IGTI Member
- Associate Editor of ASME International JHT
Other Professional Experiences
- University of Connecticut – Mechanical Engineering Faculty
- United Technologies Pratt & Whitney – Technology Leader
- Siemens-Westinghouse Corp – Principal Engineer
- General Electric – Edison Engineer to Staff Engineer
- PSEG – Electric Power Staff Engineer
Education
- Ph.D., New York University, Mechanical Engineering
- M.S., New Jersey Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering
- B.S., New Jersey Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering
Research Focus
- Turbomachinery Development and Turbine Blade Analysis
- Advanced Thermodynamics and Energy Systems
- Solid and Fluid Mechanics
- Computer Modeling and Simulation
- Heat Transfer Testing
- Slot Cooling
- Thermal-Mechanical Fatigue
Contact Information
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