Contact Dr Derek Bray
- Tel: +44 (0) 1793 785351
- Email: d.bray@cranfield.ac.uk
Areas of expertise
- Aeronautical Systems
- Aerospace Structures
- Aircraft Design
- Autonomous Systems
- Flight Physics
- Gas Turbines & Propulsion
- Weapons Engineering
Background
Dr Bray obtained his first class BEng degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology in 1982. He was awarded his PhD in jet aerodynamics by Cranfield University in 1992.
Dr Bray has had industrial experience with British Coal, GEC Marconi Avionics, GEC Mechanical Engineering Laboratory and British Aerospace Space and Communications Division.
Current activities
Dr Bray's interests include:
- aerodynamics, propulsion and structural design of guided weapons, aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles
- jet and cavity aerodynamics
- external ballistics.
He is Course Director for the MSc in Guided Weapons Systems.
Publications
Articles In Journals
- Bacci D, Saddington AJ & Bray D (2019) The effect of angle of attack on the aeroacoustic environment within the weapons bay of a generic UCAV, Aerospace Science and Technology, 93 (October) Article No. 105315.
- Lawson N., Knowles K., Bray D., Finnis M. & Eyles J. (2014) Transient and time-averaged characteristics of a compressible ground vortex flow, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G: Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 228 (3) 375-383.
- Tipnis TJ, Finnis MV, Knowles K & Bray D (2013) Density Measurements for Rectangular Free Jets Using Background Oriented Schlieren, Aeronautical Journal -New Series-, 117 (1194) 771-784.
- Felix Moreno R, Economou JT, Bray D & Knowles K (2013) Modelling and simulation of a fuel cell powered electric drivetrain for wide body passenger aircraft, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G: Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 227 (4) 608-617.
- Tipnis TJ, Knowles K & Bray D (2013) Statistical modelling for prediction of axis-switching in rectangular jets
, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G: Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 227 (8) 1325-1337. - Bray D, Taborda N & Knowles K (2001) Experimental investigation into transonic flows over tandem cavities, The Aeronautical Journal, 105 (1045) 119-124.
- Knowles K, Wilson MJ & Bray D (1993) Unsteady pressures under impinging jets in crossflows, AIAA Journal, 31 (12) 2374-2375.
- Knowles K & Bray D (1993) Ground vortex formed by impinging jets in cross-flow, Journal of Aircraft, 30 (6) 872-878.
- Knowles K, Bray D, Bailey PJ & Curtis P (1992) Impinging Jets in Cross-flow, The Aeronautical Journal, 96 (952) 47-56.
- Knowles K & Bray D (1991) Recent Research into the Aerodynamics of ASTOVL Aircraft in Ground Environment, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G: Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 205 (2) 121-131.
- Knowles K & Bray D (1991) Computation of normal impinging jets in cross-flow and comparison with experiment, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, 13 (10) 1225-1233.
Conference Papers
- Bacci D, Saddington A & Bray D (2016) Wavelet analysis of complex geometry transonic cavity flows. In: AIAA Flow Conference, Washington DC, 13-17 June 2016.
- Tipnis TJ, Knowles K & Bray D (2010) Prediction of axis-switching in jets from rectangular nozzles. In: International Powered Lift Conference 2010, Philadelphia, PA, 5 October 2010.
- Bray D, Knowles K, Saddington AJ, Ritchie SA & Finnis MV (2006) 3-D Visualisation of Rectangular Cavity Flows at Transonic Speeds. In: 12th International Symposium on Flow Visualization, 2006, Goettingen, 10 September 2006.
- Knowles K, Lawson NJ, Bray D, Ritchie SA & Geraldes P (2004) Studies of Transonic Cavity Flows Relevant to Aircraft Stores Carriage and Release. In: RTO Applied Vehicle Technology Panel (AVT) Symposium, Williamsburg, VA, 7 June 2004.
- Bray D, Lawson NJ & Harding SJ Supersonic Business Jet Aircraft Design. In: 23rd International Congress of Aeronautical Sciences, Toronto, 8 September 2002.
Books
- Bray D (2010)
Special features of guided weapon stability and control
. In: Encyclopaedia of aerospace engineering. Blockley R, Shyy W (ed.), Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, p. 2737-2749.