Roydon Fraser
Biography summary
Roydon Fraser is the Teaching Chair and a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering. He is also an investigator in the Green Intelligent Transportation Systems Group at the University of Waterloo.
Professor Fraser is the past-President of the University of Waterloo Faculty Association and is serving in his eighth year as a Professional Engineers Ontario Councillor. He is also a life member of the Sandford Fleming Foundation, a member of the Ontario Engineering Competition Board, and a founding board member of Engineers without Borders.
His research interests focus on energy conversion systems. Primarily, the characterization of spark ignition engine combustion, the integration and control of alternative fuels powertrains into vehicles, and the application of energy and the second law of thermodynamics to the characterization and optimization of complex thermodynamic systems.
Professor Fraser has expertise in turbulent combustion and non-intrusive combustion diagnostics as applied to internal combustion engines, in alternative fuel vehicle development. He places a particular emphasis on natural gas, ethanol and hydrogen (fuel cells) fuels and hybrid vehicles.
Research interests
- Automotive
- In-cylinder Combustion Diagnostics
- Alternative Fuels
- Exergy Analysis of Energy
- Conversion Systems
- Exergy Analysis of Ecosystems
- Window Thermal Performance
- Modelling
- Energy
- Fire Safety Engineering
- Life Cycle Analysis
- In-cylinder Combustion Diagnostics
- Alternative Fuels
- Exergy Analysis of Energy Conversion Systems
- Exergy Analysis of Ecosystems
- Window Thermal Performance Modelling
- Thermodynamics of Ecosystems
- Vehicle fleet/power plant/industry emissions impacts (local and regional)
Education
- 1991, P. Eng., Professional Engineering, Professional Engineering
- 1989, Doctorate, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University
- 1985, Master's, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University
- 1983, Bachelor's, Engineering Physics, Queen's University
Courses*
- ME 100 - Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Practice 1
- Taught in 2019, 2020
- ME 201 - Advanced Calculus
- Taught in 2021
- ME 250 - Thermodynamics 1
- Taught in 2021, 2022
- ME 354 - Thermodynamics 2
- Taught in 2023, 2024
- ME 459 - Energy Conversion
- Taught in 2019
- ME 599 - Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering
- Taught in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
- ME 659 - Energy and Environment
- Taught in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024
- ME 760 - Special Topics in Thermal Engineering
- Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022
- MTE 309 - Introduction to Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer
- Taught in 2019, 2020, 2021
- SYDE 381 - Thermodynamics
- Taught in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024
* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.
Selected/recent publications
- Panchal, S and Dincer, I and Agelin-Chaab, M and Fraser, R and Fowler, M, Thermal modeling and validation of temperature distributions in a prismatic lithium-ion battery at different discharge rates and varying boundary conditions, Applied Thermal Engineering, 96, 2016, 190 - 199
- Panchal, S and Dincer, I and Agelin-Chaab, M and Fraser, R and Fowler, M, Experimental temperature distributions in a prismatic lithium-ion battery at varying conditions, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 71, 2016, 35 - 43
- Mastali, Mehrdad and Samadani, Ehsan and Farhad, Siamak and Fraser, Roydon and Fowler, Michael, Three-dimensional Multi-Particle Electrochemical Model of LiFePO 4 Cells based on a Resistor Network Methodology, Electrochimica Acta, 190, 2016, 574 - 587
- Samadani, Ehsan and Mastali, Mehrdad and Farhad, Siamak and Fraser, Roydon A and Fowler, Michael, Li-ion battery performance and degradation in electric vehicles under different usage scenarios, International Journal of Energy Research, 40(3), 2016, 379 - 392
- Panchal, S and Dincer, I and Agelin-Chaab, M and Fraser, R and Fowler, M, Experimental and theoretical investigation of temperature distributions in a prismatic lithium-ion battery, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 99, 2016, 204 - 212
In the news
Graduate studies
- Currently considering applications from graduate students. A completed online application is required for admission; start the application process now.