Dr Daniel Pugh

Senior Lecturer

: Available for postgraduate supervision

I am a Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University and Director of the School of Engineering's Gas Turbine Research Centre. My research focusses on the development and characterisation of alternative fuels for transport and power applications.

My PhD was attained through an EPSRC-funded project to evaluate an energy intensive site and determine if centralised electricity generation and steam distribution is preferable to local consumption of waste heat and by-product fuels.

Within Cardiff’s Centre for Research into Energy, Waste and the Environment, my contemporary work encompasses fundamental aspects of combustion within decarbonised fuel energy systems, and minimising the production of harmful emissions. I have experience with a range of energy transfer applications including carbon-free fuels such as H₂ and NH₃, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), waste by-product fuels, and Aerospace applications.

I have contributed research to projects funded by EPSRC, Innovate UK, WEFO, and BEIS, enabled through the development of experimental facilities and advanced diagnostics at the Gas Turbine Research Centre. This has resulted in me receiving the 2020 Hinshelwood prize for meritorious work in the field of combustion.

https://www.cu-gtrc.co.uk/

Energy and Environment

Date
Type

2025

Davies, J., Mazzotta, L., Sato, D., Mashruk, S., Pugh, D., Borello, D. and Valera Medina, A. 2025. Experimental and numerical investigation of NH3/H2/N2 combustion in a premixed/stratified swirl burner. Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power 147(1), article number: 11006. (10.1115/1.4066207)

2024

O’Malley, E., Pugh, D., Wu, J. and Clements, D. 2024. A deep learning-based method for non-intrusive load monitoring and load disaggregation of 11kV/400V electrical Substations. Presented at: 18th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, Anaheim, California, 15-17 July 2024ASME 2024 18th International Conference on Energy Sustainability. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, (10.1115/es2024-130477)
Davies, J., Mazzotta, L., Sato, D., Mashruk, S., Pugh, D., Borello, D. and Valera Medina, A. 2024. Experimental and numerical investigation of NH3/H2/N2 combustion in a premixed/stratified swirl burner. Presented at: ASME Turbo Expo 2024: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, London, UK, 24-28 June 2024Ceramics and Ceramic Composites; Coal, Biomass, Hydrogen, and Alternative Fuels, Vol. 2., (10.1115/GT2024-127419)
Pugh, D. et al. 2024. Influence of variable swirl on emissions in a non-premixed fuel-flexible burner at elevated ambient conditions. Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power 146(6), article number: 61006. (10.1115/1.4063786)

2023

Alnasif, A., Mashruk, S., Shi, H., Alnajideen, M., Wang, P., Pugh, D. and Valera-Medina, A. 2023. Evolution of ammonia reaction mechanisms and modeling parameters: A review. Applications in Energy and Combustion Science 15, article number: 100175. (10.1016/j.jaecs.2023.100175)
Pugh, D. et al. 2023. Influence of variable swirl on emissions in a non-premixed fuel-flexible burner at elevated ambient conditions. Presented at: ASME Turbo Expo 2023: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, 26-30 June 2023ASME Turbo Expo 2023: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition: Combustion, Fuels, and Emissions, Vol. 3A. ASME, (10.1115/GT2023-102457)
Mashruk, S. et al. 2023. Numerical analysis on the evolution of NH2 in ammonia/hydrogen swirling flames and detailed sensitivity analysis under elevated conditions. Combustion Science and Technology 195(6), pp. 1251-1278. (10.1080/00102202.2021.1990897)

2022

Valera Medina, A., Mashruk, S., Pugh, D. and Bowen, P. 2022. Ammonia. In: O'Connor, J., Noble, B. and Lieuwen, T. eds. Renewable Fuels: Sources, Conversion, and Utilization. Cambridge University Press, pp. 245-274., (10.1017/9781009072366.011)
Mashruk, S., Okafor, E., Kovaleva, M., Alnasif, A., Pugh, D., Hayakawa, A. and Valera Medina, A. 2022. Evolution of N2O production at lean combustion condition in NH3/H2/air premixed swirling flames. Combustion and Flame 244, article number: 112299. (10.1016/j.combustflame.2022.112299)
Harper, J., Durand, E., Bowen, P., Pugh, D., Johnson, M. and Crayford, A. 2022. Influence of alternative fuel properties and combustor operating conditions on the nvPM and gaseous emissions produced by a small-scale RQL combustor. Fuel 315, article number: 123045. (10.1016/j.fuel.2021.123045)
Zitouni, S., Pugh, D., Crayford, A., Bowen, P. J. and Runyon, J. 2022. Lewis number effects on lean premixed combustion characteristics of multi-component fuel blends. Combustion and Flame 238, article number: 111932. (10.1016/j.combustflame.2021.111932)

2021

Pugh, D. et al. 2021. Emissions performance of staged premixed and diffusion combustor concepts for an NH3/air flame with and without reactant humidification. Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power 143(5), article number: 51012. (10.1115/1.4049451)
Giles, A., Williams, C., Pugh, D., Bowen, P., Marsh, R. and O'Doherty, T. 2021. A waste heat recovery strategy and its deployment: an integrated steelworks case study. Proceedings of the ICE - Waste and Resource Management 174(1), pp. 3-11. (10.1680/jwarm.20.00011)
Hewlett, S. G., Pugh, D. G., Valera-Medina, A., Giles, A., Runyon, J., Goktepe, B. and Bowen, P. 2021. Industrial wastewater as an enabler of green ammonia to power via gas turbine technology. Presented at: Turbomachinery Technical Conference & Exposition (TURBO EXPO 2020), Virtual, 21-25 September 2020Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2020 Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition. ASME pp. GT2020-14581., (10.1115/GT2020-14581)
Runyon, J., Pugh, D., Giles, A., Goktepe, B., Bowen, P., Marsh, R. and Morris, S. 2021. Experimental and kinetic evaluation of pressurized lean premixed hydrogen-air flame stability with carbon dioxide and steam dilution. Presented at: ASME Turbo Expo 2020: Turbomachinery Technical Conference & Exposition, Virtual, 21-25 September 2020Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2020Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, Vol. 4B. ASME, (10.1115/GT2020-16083)
Pugh, D. et al. 2021. Emissions performance of staged premixed and diffusion combustor concepts for an NH3/air flame with and without reactant humidification. Presented at: ASME Turbo Expo 2020: Turbomachinery Technical Conference & Exposition, Virtual, 21-25 September 2020ASME Turbo Expo 2020: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, Vol. 4A. ASME, (10.1115/GT2020-14953)
Pugh, D. et al. 2021. An investigation of ammonia primary flame combustor concepts for emissions reduction with OH*, NH2* and NH* chemiluminescence at elevated conditions. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 38(4), pp. 6451-6459. (10.1016/j.proci.2020.06.310)

2020

Runyon, J., Giles, A., Marsh, R., Pugh, D., Goktepe, B., Bowen, P. and Morris, S. 2020. Characterization of Additive Layer Manufacturing Swirl Burner Surface Roughness and Its Effects on Flame Stability Using High-Speed Diagnostics.. Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power 142(4), article number: 41017. (10.1115/1.4044950)
Crayford, A., Bowen, P., Durand, E., Pugh, D., Sevcenco, Y. and Johnson, M. 2020. Influence of humidity and fuel hydrogen content on ultrafine non-volatile particulate matter formation in RQL gas turbine technology.. Presented at: Turbomachinery Technical Conference & Exposition (TURBO EXPO 2020), London, England, 22-26 June 2020.

2019

Pugh, D., Bowen, P., Valera-Medina, A., Giles, A., Runyon, J. and Marsh, R. 2019. Influence of steam addition and elevated ambient conditions on NOx reduction in a staged premixed swirling NH3/H2 flame. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 37(4), pp. 5401-5409. (10.1016/j.proci.2018.07.091)
Hewlett, S., Valera Medina, A., Pugh, D. and Bowen, P. 2019. Gas turbine co-firing of steelworks ammonia with coke oven gas or methane: A fundamental and cycle Analysis. Presented at: ASME Turbo Expo 2019, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, 17-21 June 2019ASME Turbo Expo 2019: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition: Volume 3: Coal, Biomass, Hydrogen, and Alternative Fuels; Cycle Innovations; Electric Power; Industrial and Cogeneration; Organic Rankine Cycle Power Systems. ASME pp. GT2019-91404., (10.1115/GT2019-91404)
Runyon, J., Giles, A., Marsh, R., Pugh, D., Goktepe, B., Bowen, P. and Morris, S. 2019. Characterization of ALM swirl burner surface roughness and its effect on flame stability using high-speed diagnostics. Presented at: ASME Turbo Expo 2019, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, 17-21 June 2019ASME Turbo Expo 2019: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition: Volume 4A: Combustion, Fuels, and Emissions. pp. GT2019-90215-V04AT04A008., (10.1115/GT2019-90215)
Valera Medina, A. et al. 2019. Premixed ammonia/hydrogen swirl combustion under rich fuel conditions for gas turbines operation. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 44(16), pp. 8615-8626. (10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.02.041)

2018

Upadhyay, A. et al. 2018. A new RAM normalized 1f-WMS technique for the measurement of gas parameters in harsh environments and a comparison with 2f/1f. IEEE Photonics Journal 10(6), article number: 6804611. (10.1109/JPHOT.2018.2883548)
Valera-Medina, A., Giles, A., Pugh, D., Morris, S., Pohl, M. and Ortwein, A. 2018. Investigation of combustion of emulated biogas in a gas turbine test rig. Journal of Thermal Science 27(4), pp. 331-340. (10.1007/s11630-018-1024-1)
Runyon, J., Marsh, R., Bowen, P., Pugh, D., Giles, A. and Morris, S. 2018. Lean methane flame stability in a premixed generic swirl burner: Isothermal flow and atmospheric combustion characterization. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 92, pp. 125-140. (10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2017.11.019)
Pugh, D., Bowen, P., Crayford, A., Marsh, R., Runyon, J., Morris, S. and Giles, A. 2018. Catalytic influence of water vapor on lean blowoff and NOx reduction for pressurised swirling syngas flames. Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power 140(6), article number: 61502. (10.1115/1.4038417)

2017

Valera Medina, A., Pugh, D., Marsh, P., Bulat, G. and Bowen, P. 2017. Preliminary study on lean premixed combustion of ammonia-hydrogen for swirling gas turbine combustors. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 42(38), pp. 24495-24503. (10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.08.028)
Buffi, M., Valera Medina, A., Marsh, R., Pugh, D., Giles, A., Runyon, J. and Chiaramonti, D. 2017. Emissions characterization tests for hydrotreated renewable jet fuel from used cooking oil and its blends. Applied Energy 201, pp. 84-93. (10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.05.104)
Pugh, D. G. et al. 2017. Dissociative influence of H2O vapour/spray on lean blowoff and NOx reduction for heavily carbonaceous syngas swirling flames. Combustion and Flame 177, pp. 37-48. (10.1016/j.combustflame.2016.11.010)
Valera Medina, A., Marsh, R., Runyon, J., Pugh, D., Beasley, P., Hughes, T. and Bowen, P. 2017. Ammonia-methane combustion in tangential swirl burners for gas turbine power generation. Applied Energy 185(2), pp. 1362-1371. (10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.02.073)
Pugh, D., Bowen, P., Crayford, A., Marsh, R., Runyon, J., Morris, S. and Giles, A. 2017. Catalytic influence of water vapor on lean blowoff and NOx reduction for pressurised swirling syngas flames. Presented at: ASME Turbo Expo 2017: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, North Carolina, USA, 26-30 June 2017Volume 4B: Combustion, Fuels and Emissions. ASME pp. V04BT04A033., (10.1115/GT2017-64609)
Runyon, J., Marsh, R., Pugh, D., Bowen, P., Giles, A., Morris, S. and Valera Medina, A. 2017. Experimental analysis of confinement and swirl effects on premixed ch4-h-2 flame behavior in a pressurized generic swirl burner. Presented at: ASME Turbo Expo 2017: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, North Carolina, USA, 26-30 June 2017ASME Turbo Expo 2017: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, Vol. 4B. ASME, (10.1115/GT2017-64794)

2016

Kurji, H. et al. 2016. Combustion characteristics of biodiesel saturated with pyrolysis oil for power generation in gas turbines. Renewable Energy 99, pp. 443-451. (10.1016/j.renene.2016.07.036)
Marsh, R., Runyon, J., Giles, A., Morris, S., Pugh, D., Valera-Medina, A. and Bowen, P. 2016. Premixed methane oxycombustion in nitrogen and carbon dioxide atmospheres: measurement of operating limits, flame location and emissions. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 36(3), pp. 3949-3958. (10.1016/j.proci.2016.06.057)
Pugh, D. G., Crayford, A. P., Bowen, P. J. and Al-Naama, M. 2016. Parametric investigation of water loading on heavily carbonaceous syngases. Combustion and Flame 164, pp. 126-136. (10.1016/j.combustflame.2015.11.009)
Buffi, M., Valera Medina, A., Runyon, J., Pugh, D., Giles, A., Marsh, R. and Chiaramonti, D. 2016. Evaluation of combustion behavior of renewable jet fuel in a combustor rig: influence of HEFA and its blends on flame stability and emissions compared to aviation kerosene. Presented at: 24th European Biomass Conference, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 6-9 June 2016.

2015

Valera Medina, A., Morris, S., Runyon, J., Pugh, D. G., Marsh, R., Beasley, P. and Hughes, T. 2015. Ammonia, methane and hydrogen for gas turbines. Energy Procedia 75, pp. 118-123. (10.1016/j.egypro.2015.07.205)
Runyon, J., Marsh, R., Sevcenco, Y. A., Pugh, D. and Morris, S. 2015. Development and commissioning of a chemiluminescence imaging system for an optically-accessible high-pressure generic swirl burner. Presented at: 7th European Combustion Meeting (ECM 2015), Budapest, Hungary, 31 Mar - 2 Apr 2015EMC 2015: 7th European Combustion Meeting, March 30 - April 2, 2015, Budapest, Hungary. Vol. P3-29. pp. 1-6.
Runyon, J., Marsh, R., Valera Medina, A., Giles, A., Pugh, D., Sevcenco, Y. A. and Bowen, P. J. 2015. Methane-oxygen flame stability in a generic premixed gas turbine swirl combustor at varying thermal power and pressure. Presented at: ASME Turbo Expo 2015: Turbine Technical Conference and Exposition, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 15–19 June 2015Conference Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2015: Turbine Technical Conference and Exposition, Vol. 4B. Combustion, Fuels and Emissions New York: ASME, (10.1115/GT2015-43588)

2014

Pugh, D., Crayford, A. P., Bowen, P. J., O'Doherty, T., Marsh, R. and Steer, J. 2014. Laminar flame speed and markstein length characterisation of steelworks gas blends. Applied Energy 136, pp. 1026-1034. (10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.04.044)
Pugh, D., Crayford, A. P., Bowen, P. J., O'Doherty, T. and Marsh, R. 2014. Variation in laminar burning velocity and Markstein length with water addition for industrially produced syngases. Presented at: urbo Expo 2014: Turbine Technical Conference and Exposition, Dusseldorf, Germany, 16-20 June 2014ASME Turbo Expo 2014: Turbine Technical Conference and Exposition: Volume 4A: Combustion, Fuels and Emissions. ASME pp. V04AT04A030., (10.1115/GT2014-25455)

2013

Pugh, D., Giles, A., Hopkins, A., O'Doherty, T., Griffiths, A. J. and Marsh, R. 2013. Thermal distributive blast furnace gas characterisation, a steelworks case study. Applied Thermal Engineering 53(2), pp. 358-365. (10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2012.05.014)
Pugh, D., O'Doherty, T., Griffiths, A. J., Bowen, P. J., Crayford, A. P. and Marsh, R. 2013. Sensitivity to change in laminar burning velocity and Markstein length resulting from variable hydrogen fraction in blast furnace gas for changing ambient conditions. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 38(8), pp. 3459-3470. (10.1016/j.ijhydene.2012.12.081)
Syred, N. et al. 2013. Effect of inlet and outlet configurations on blow-off and flashback with premixed combustion for high hydrogen content fuels in a generic swirl burner. Presented at: ICAE 2013, Pretoria, South Africa, 12-15 November 2013.
Pugh, D. 2013. Combustion characterisation of compositionally dynamic steelworks gases. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.

2012

Pugh, D. et al. 2012. Laminar burning velocity and Markstein length characterisation of compositionally dynamic blast furnace gas. Presented at: Turbo Expo 2012: Turbine Technical Conference and Exposition, Copenhagen, Denmark, 11-15 June 2012ASME Turbo Expo 2012: Turbine Technical Conference and Exposition Volume 2: Combustion, Fuels and Emissions, Parts A and B. ASME pp. 1257-1266., (10.1115/GT2012-69667)

I undertake research into the development and characterisation of alternative fuels for transport and power generation, encompassing fundamental aspects of combustion within energy systems, and minimising the production of harmful emissions.

This is enabled through the continued development of experimental facilities at Cardiff’s Gas Turbine Research Centre (GTRC).

Projects

I have contributed to the following projects:

Evaluation of a large energy intensive site to determine if centralised electricity generation and steam distribution is preferable to local generation	EPSRC	01/10/2009 - 31/03/2013
H2-IGCC Low Emission Gas Turbine Technology for Hydrogen-rich Syngas	European Commission (FP7)	01/11/2009 - 31/12/2013
BP acetic acid burning	BP Amoco Chemical Company	01/02/2012 - 31/08/2013
BRISK- The European Research Infrastructure for Thermochemical Biomass Conversion	European Commission (FP7)	01/10/2011 - 30/09/2015
Flexible and Efficient Power Plant: Flex-E-Plant	EPSRC via Loughborough	01/03/2013 - 30/09/2017
Selective exhaust gas recirculation for carbon capture with gas turbines	EPSRC	01/10/2014 - 30/09/2017
Decoupled Green Energy Supply	TSB (Innovate UK)	01/01/2015 - 31/12/2017
Advanced gas turbine cycles for high efficiency and sustainable future conventional generation	EPSRC via Imperial College London	01/04/2015 - 31/03/2018
FLEXIS (Flexible Integrated Systems)	WEFO	01/07/2015 - 28/02/2021
Hy4Heat Programme WP6	BEIS	01/08/2018 - 01/02/2020

Research Areas

Research into the development and application of zero-carbon fuels is crucially important for the development of future energy systems. The video below demonstrates a model gas turbine flame fuelled by H₂/NH₃ with minimised NO_x production (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2018.07.091)

Gas Turbine flame fuelled by H2/NH3

At GTRC we employ advanced diagnostic techniques to better understand the performance of alternative fuels in applied systems. The video below shows a high-frequency thermoacoustic flame instability with a CH₄/H₂ flame captured with OH* chemiluminescence.

Thermoacoustic Flame instability captured with OH* chemiluminescence

Education

2013: PhD (Mechanical Engineering) Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
2009: MEng (Integrated Engineering) Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

Honours and awards

Won the 2020 Hinshelwood Prize - peer reviewed by the Combustion Institute

Professional memberships

Member of the British Section of the Combustion Institute
Advanced HE Fellowship (FHEA)

Academic positions

2020 - present: Lecturer of fluid mechanics, Cardiff University
2017 - 2020: Research Fellow, Cardiff University
2013 - 2017: Research Associate, Cardiff University

I was intially employed as a Research Assistant following the completion of undergraduate work undertaken for my Integrated Engineering degree. The project required the characterisation of ferrous oxidation rates, in particular the demonstration and measurement of an autocatalytic influence within colloidal ferric solutions. The study was well received and led to the application and procurement of additional funding and further research preceding the completion of my Master’s degree.

I subsequently applied to undertake doctoral research on an EPSRC funded project, monitoring/optimising on-site energy generation and usage for a large integrated facility. My remit within the multidisciplinary team was the study of gases indigenous to the integrated steel-making process, leading to research in the field of fundamental and applied combustion. At this time, I began to work with Master’s and Undergraduate students on their projects; developing an understanding of the reaction kinetics associated with flame propagation and employing alternative fuels. Results allowed for a detailed understanding of combustion behaviour in relation to reducing operational instability within practical industrial systems.

After attaining my PhD, I took the position of first Research Associate, then Fellow at the School of Engineering’s Gas Turbine Research Centre investigating aspects of fundamental and applied combustion. The role required the operation and design of experimental facilities and test programmes that contributed towards both collaborative projects funded by external bodies, and my own novel research. I have contributed to projects awarded from multiple funding bodies including EPSRC, Technology Strategy Board (Innovate UK) and the EU, collaborating with leading industrial partners.Contemorary work has focussed on fundamental and applied combustion. Studied aspects include: Swirling and counterflow flames at elevated conditions for gas turbine applications, alternative zero-carbon and bio-derived fuels, staged/diffusion flames, harmful emissions reduction, laminar and turbulent flame propagation, and chemical kinetics with the validation and development of reaction mechanisms.

I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:

The application of zero-carbon fuels such as H₂ and NH₃
Fundamental combustion
Emissions reduction
The development of advanced diagnostic techniques
The development of additive manufacturing for combustion applications

Current supervision

Marina Kovaleva

Research student

Contact Details

PughDG@cardiff.ac.uk
+44 29208 75712

Waste heat recovery research wins Telford Premium Prize

12 December 2022

Cardiff engineer wins the prestigious Hinshelwood Prize for Combustion

20 August 2020