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Dr Duncan Sutherland

Dr Duncan Sutherland

Senior Lecturer
UNSW Canberra
School of Science

I completed my PhD in 2014 in Applied Mathematics at the University of Sydney. I then worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at Victoria University Melbourne on Physics-based Simulation of Bushfires, before joining UNSW Canberra in 2014. I was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2022, was appointed deputy director of UNSW Bushfire in 2023, and was appointed maths discipline coordinator in 2024. 
Phone
+61 2 5114 5030
E-mail
duncan.sutherland@unsw.edu.au
Location
Building 22, Room 215.
  • Book Chapters | 2022
    Hassan A; Accary G; Sutherland D; Meradji S; Moinuddin K, 2022, 'Physics-based modelling of junction fires: Sensitivity and Validation studies', in Advances in Forest Fire Research 2022, Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, pp. 315 - 322, http://dx.doi.org/10.14195/978-989-26-2298-9_50
    Book Chapters | 2022
    Sutherland D; Sharples J; Moinuddin K, 2022, 'Simulated flame shape and heat transfer of quasi-equilibrium grass fires at transitional Byram numbers', in Advances in Forest Fire Research 2022, Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, pp. 767 - 774, http://dx.doi.org/10.14195/978-989-26-2298-9_117
  • Journal articles | 2024
    Hassan A; Accary G; Sutherland D; Moinuddin K, 2024, 'Physics-based modelling of wind-driven junction fires', Fire Safety Journal, 142, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2023.104039
    Journal articles | 2024
    Lam WK; Chan L; Cao Y; Sutherland D; Manasseh R; Moinuddin K; Ooi A, 2024, 'Mixing of a cylindrical gravity current in a stratified ambient', International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, 107, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatfluidflow.2024.109410
    Journal articles | 2024
    Lam WK; Chan L; Sutherland D; Manasseh R; Moinuddin K; Ooi A, 2024, 'Effect of stratification on the propagation of a cylindrical gravity current', Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 983, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2024.98
    Journal articles | 2024
    Zahtila T; Lam WK; Chan L; Sutherland D; Moinuddin K; Dai A; Skvortsov A; Manasseh R; Ooi A, 2024, 'On the propagation of planar gravity currents into a stratified ambient', Physics of Fluids, 36, http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0190835
    Journal articles | 2023
    Hassan A; Accary G; Sutherland D; Moinuddin K, 2023, 'Physics-based modelling of junction fires: Parametric study', International Journal of Wildland Fire, 32, pp. 336 - 350, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF22121
    Journal articles | 2023
    Innocent J; Sutherland D; Khan N; Moinuddin K, 2023, 'Physics-based simulations of grassfire propagation on sloped terrain at field scale: flame dynamics, mode of fire propagation and heat fluxes', International Journal of Wildland Fire, 32, pp. 513 - 530, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF21125
    Journal articles | 2023
    Innocent J; Sutherland D; Khan N; Moinuddin K, 2023, 'Physics-based simulations of grassfire propagation on sloped terrain at field scale: motivations, model reliability, rate of spread and fire intensity', International Journal of Wildland Fire, 32, pp. 496 - 512, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF21124
    Journal articles | 2023
    Innocent J; Sutherland D; Moinuddin K, 2023, 'Field-Scale Physical Modelling of Grassfire Propagation on Sloped Terrain under Low-Speed Driving Wind', Fire, 6, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/fire6100406
    Journal articles | 2023
    Khan N; Sutherland D; Moinuddin K, 2023, 'Simulated behaviour of wildland fire spreading through idealised heterogeneous fuels', International Journal of Wildland Fire, 32, pp. 738 - 748, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF22009
    Journal articles | 2023
    Sutherland D; Rashid MA; Hilton JE; Moinuddin KAM, 2023, 'Implementation of spatially-varying wind adjustment factor for wildfire simulations', Environmental Modelling and Software, 163, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2023.105660
    Journal articles | 2023
    Wadhwani R; Sutherland D; Moinuddin K; Huang X, 2023, 'Numerical simulation of two parallel merging wildfires', International Journal of Wildland Fire, 32, pp. 1726 - 1740, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF23071
    Journal articles | 2022
    Wadhwani R; Sutherland D; Ooi A; Moinuddin K, 2022, 'Corrigendum to: Firebrand transport from a novel firebrand generator: numerical simulation of laboratory experiments', International Journal of Wildland Fire, 31, pp. 649 - 649, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wf21088_co
    Journal articles | 2022
    Wadhwani R; Sutherland D; Ooi A; Moinuddin K, 2022, 'Firebrand transport from a novel firebrand generator: Numerical simulation of laboratory experiments', International Journal of Wildland Fire, 31, pp. 634 - 648, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF21088
    Journal articles | 2021
    Moinuddin K; Khan N; Sutherland D, 2021, 'Numerical study on effect of relative humidity (and fuel moisture) on modes of grassfire propagation', Fire Safety Journal, 125, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2021.103422
    Journal articles | 2021
    Sutherland D; Sharples JJ; Mell W; Moinuddin KAM, 2021, 'A response to comments of Cruz et al. on: 'Simulation study of grass fire using a physics-based model: Striving towards numerical rigour and the effect of grass height on the rate of spread'', International Journal of Wildland Fire, 30, pp. 221 - 223, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF20091
    Journal articles | 2020
    Accary G; Sutherland D; Frangieh N; Moinuddin K; Shamseddine I; Meradji S; Morvan D, 2020, 'Physics-based simulations of flow and fire development downstream of a canopy', Atmosphere, 11, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos11070683
    Journal articles | 2020
    Sutherland D; Sharples JJ; Moinuddin KAM, 2020, 'A response to comments of Cruz et al. on: 'The effect of ignition protocol on the spread rate of grass fires'', International Journal of Wildland Fire, 29, pp. 1139 - 1141, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF20046
    Journal articles | 2020
    Sutherland D; Sharples JJ; Moinuddin KAM, 2020, 'The effect of ignition protocol on grassfire development', International Journal of Wildland Fire, 29, pp. 70 - 80, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF19046
    Journal articles | 2019
    Khan N; Sutherland D; Wadhwani R; Moinuddin K, 2019, 'Physics-based simulation of heat load on structures for improving construction standards for bushfire prone areas', Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering - Thermal and Mass Transport, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmech.2019.00035
    Journal articles | 2019
    Moinuddin K; Sutherland D, 2019, 'Modelling of tree fires and fires transitioning from the forest floor to the canopy with a physics-based model', Mathematics and Computers in Simulation
    Journal articles | 2019
    Moinuddin KAM; Sutherland D, 2019, 'Simulations of radiation heat flux on a structure from a fire in an idealised shrubland.', The Australian Journal of Emergency Management
    Journal articles | 2018
    Moinuddin K; Sutherland D; Mell W, 2018, 'Simulation study of grass fire using a physics-based model: striving towards numerical rigour and the effect of grass height on the rate of spread', International Journal of Wildland Fire, 27, pp. 800 - 814, http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF17126
    Journal articles | 2017
    Wadhwani R; Sutherland D; Moinuddin KAM; Joseph P, 2017, 'Kinetics of pyrolysis of litter materials from pine and eucalyptus forests', Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 130, pp. 2035 - 2046, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10973-017-6512-0
    Journal articles | 2017
    Wadhwani R; Sutherland D; Ooi A; Moinuddin K; Thorpe G, 2017, 'Verification of a Lagrangian particle model for short-range firebrand transport', Fire Safety Journal, 91, pp. 776 - 783, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2017.03.019
    Journal articles | 2013
    Sutherland D; Macaskill C; Dritschel DG, 2013, 'The effect of slip length on vortex rebound from a rigid boundary', PHYSICS OF FLUIDS, 25, http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4821774
  • Conference Papers | 2023
    Saurav TM; Sutherland D; Sharples J, 2023, 'A computational framework for phenomenological modelling of ember storms at the wildland-urban interface', in Proceedings of the International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, MODSIM, pp. 816 - 822
    Conference Papers | 2022
    Fayad J; Accary G; Sutherland D; Meradji S; Frangieh N; Moinuddin K; Morvan D; Chatelon FJ; Rossi J-L, 2022, 'Numerical Study of Junction Fires on Sloped Terrain for Grassland Vegetation', in The Third International Conference on Fire Behavior and Risk, MDPI, pp. 112 - 112, presented at International Conference on Fire Behavior and Risk, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2022017112
    Conference Papers | 2021
    Wadhwani R; Sutherland D; Moinuddin KA; Sharples JJ, 2021, 'Application of neural networks to rate of spread estimation in shrublands', in Proceedings of the International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, MODSIM, pp. 407 - 413
    Conference Papers | 2021
    Wadhwani R; Sutherland D; Thorpe G; Moinuddin KA, 2021, 'Improvement of drag model for non-burning firebrand transport in Fire Dynamics Simulator', in Proceedings of the International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, MODSIM, pp. 400 - 406
    Conference Papers | 2020
    Sadeghipour S; Thorpe GR; Sutherland D, 2020, 'CFD simulation of turbulent flow over immersed bluff bodies modified by porous materials', in Proceedings of the 6th European Conference on Computational Mechanics: Solids, Structures and Coupled Problems, ECCM 2018 and 7th European Conference on Computational Fluid Dynamics, ECFD 2018, pp. 483 - 489
    Conference Papers | 2019
    Wadhwani R; Sutherland D; Moinuddin K, 2019, 'Simulated transport of short-range embers in an idealised bushfire', in 6th International Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference, Sydney, presented at 6th International Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference, Sydney, 29 April 2019
    Conference Papers | 2018
    Dissanayake A; Setunge S; Venkatesan S; Sutherland D; Moinuddin K, 2018, 'Numerical assessment of composite bridges subjected to Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fires', in Maintenance, Safety, Risk, Management and Life-Cycle Performance of Bridges: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management (IABMAS 2018), Melbourne, presented at Maintenance, Safety, Risk, Management and Life-Cycle Performance of Bridges, Melbourne, 09 July 2018
    Conference Papers | 2018
    Singha Roy S; Sutherland D; Khan N; Moinuddin K, 2018, 'A comparative study of wind fields generated by different inlet parameters and their effects on fire spread using Fire Dynamics Simulator', in 21st Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Adelaide, presented at 21st Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Adelaide, 10 December 2018
    Conference Papers | 2018
    Singha Roy S; Sutherland D; Khan N; Moinuddin K, 2018, 'A comparative study of wind fields generated by different inlet parameters and their effects on fire spread using Fire Dynamics Simulator', in Proceedings of the 21st Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, AFMC 2018
    Conference Papers | 2018
    Sutherland D; Philip J; Ooi A; Moinuddin K, 2018, 'Large Eddy Simulation of Flow Over Streamwise Heterogeneous Canopies: Quadrant Analysis', in 21st Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Adelaide, presented at 21st Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Adelaide, 10 December 2018
    Conference Papers | 2018
    Sutherland D; Philip J; Ooi A; Moinuddin K, 2018, 'SIMULATIONS OF THE EFFECT OF CANOPY DENSITY PROFILE ON SUB-CANOPY WIND SPEED PROFILES', in AFAC 2018, Perth, presented at AFAC 2018, Perth, 05 September 2018
    Conference Abstracts | 2018
    Sutherland D; Philip J; Ooi A; Moinuddin K, 2018, 'Simulations of surface fire propagating under a canopy: flame angle and intermittency', in Advances in forest fire reseach, presented at VIII International Conference on Forest Fire Research
    Conference Papers | 2018
    Sutherland D; Philip J; Ooi A; Moinuddin KAM, 2018, 'Large eddy simulation of flow over streamwise heterogeneous canopies: Quadrant analysis', in Proceedings of the 21st Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, AFMC 2018
    Conference Papers | 2018
    Sutherland D; Philip J; Ooi A; Moinuddin KAM, 2018, 'Large eddy simulation of flow over streamwise heterogeneous canopies: Quadrant analysis', in Proceedings of the 21st Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, AFMC 2018
    Conference Papers | 2017
    Moinuddin KAM; Sutherland D, 2017, 'Physics based modelling of tree fires and fires transitioning from the forest floor to the canopy', in Proceedings - 22nd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, MODSIM 2017, pp. 1138 - 1144
    Conference Papers | 2017
    Sutherland D, 2017, 'Large-eddy simulation of neutral atmospheric surface layer flow over heterogeneous tree canopies', in AFAC 2017, Sydney, presented at AFAC 2017, Sydney, 04 September 2017
    Conference Papers | 2017
    Wadhwani R; Sutherland D; Moinuddin K, 2017, 'Suitable pyrolysis model for physics-based bushfire simulation', in 11th Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion, Sydney, presented at 11th Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion, Sydney, 10 December 2017

Enhancing resilience to ember attack on the urban fringe D. Sutherland, J Sharples.D. Sanderson, P. Barnes, Black Summer Recovery Grant $804000, 2022-2024. 

Ember storms on the urban fringe D. Sutherland, J Sharples. Suburban Land Agency contract $70,000, 2022-2023

Gravity Current Driven Smoke Dispersion In a Stratified Ambient, A. Ooi, K. Moinuddin, D. Sutherland, R. Manasseh, ARC Discovery Project, $250,000 2021-2024 

Understanding the Origin and Development of Extreme and Mega Bushfires T. Penman, J. Sharples, K. Moinuddin, J. Hilton, D. Sutherland, C. Clements, ARC Discovery Project, $590,000 2021-2024 

Fire spread across fuel types K. A. M. Moinuddin, G. R. Thorpe, A. Ooi, V. Novozhilov, J. Philip, D. Sutherland, Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre, $523,000, 2017-2020

Predicting merging fire behaviour in Planned Burning T. Penman, A. Filkov, B. Cirulis. J. Sharples, D. Sutherland, Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre, $100,000, 2020-2021

My research is the application of computational fluid dynamics simulation to problems motivated by bushfires. This is a broad and rich area encompassing, buoyancy driven flows, entrainment and mixing, particle transport, contaminant modelling, and combustion modelling. 

Currently, my research is focussed on the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES), including combustion, of laboratory-scale extreme fire behaviour, and field-scale grassfires. I also conduct Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of buoyancy driven flow to understand the dynamics and mixing processes of gravity currents. 

My Research Supervision

Tanvir Saurav, Nusrat Mehnaz, Will Swedosh, Mohamad Sadeghi. 

My Teaching

Currently I teach two mathematics subjects: ZPEM1304 Engineering Mathematics 1B, and ZPEM3306 Waves and Fluids. If you are enrolled in one of those courses, please see the Moodle pages for more information.