Professor Siaka Dembele
Faculties, departments and locations
- Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Environment
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- School of Engineering
- Roehampton Vale
- Cyber, Engineering and Digital Technologies
School Director of Research and Enterprise & Professor
- Email:
- [email protected]
About
I am a Professor of Thermofluids. I hold a PhD in Thermal & Energy Engineering from the Engineering Institute INSA (Lyon, France) and have over 25 years research and teaching experience. My main research interests are in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and fire safety engineering (fire modelling and protection by sprays and sprinklers). From my educational background I have a strong interest in topics related to Thermal Engineering, Energy Engineering and Sustainability. My work in fire research, which started with a PhD project funded by some major oil and gas companies and the European Commission, has helped progress the understanding of fire thermal radiation interaction with water sprays for applications in buildings and industry. My research work was the first to characterize experimentally the spectral nature of water spray attenuation and is widely used as a reference in the field.
Since joining Kingston University London in 1998, I have been involved in and led, as principal and co-investigator, research projects funded by industry, research councils and the European Commission, covering various aspects of fire modelling, CFD, radiative heat transfer, fire suppression by sprays, spray modelling, the impact of fires on structures such as glazing, energy and sustainability related topics. I have published numerous research papers on these topics and supervised many PhD and research students. I am currently Director of Research & Enterprise for the School of Engineering at Kingston University London, and leader of the Fire and Fluid Dynamics research group. I sit as elected member in both the Executive Committee of the International Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer (ICHMT), and the Scientific Council of the International Water Mist Association (IWMA). I am an expert reviewer and evaluator in major international research funding panels, and a member of the UK EPSRC funding council Peer Review College. I am very passionate about teaching Thermofluids to students.
Qualifications
- PhD, Institut National des Sciences Appliquees (INSA)-Lyon (France)
- MSc, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Lyon (France)
- MEng Degree, Mechanical Engineering - Engineering Institute Ecole Nationale Superieure des Ingenieurs d'Abidjan (ENSIA) - Ivory Coast/Côte d'Ivoire
- Fellow Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
Domains
Qualifications
- Fellow Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- Thermodynamics - Heat Transfer
- Fluid mechanics - Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
Courses taught
My main research interests are in fire modelling with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach, fire protection and suppression with water sprays, sprinklers and water mist systems.
I also conduct research in thermal radiation heat transfer in high temperature environments such as fires, and the behaviour of glass under fire conditions. From my background, I have some interests in energy-related topics.
Current research funding
- Modelling and numerical simulation of fuel combustion in a blast tube. AWE – Nuclear Security Technologies Grant, 2024-2028. Principal Investigator (PI): Dr Siaka Dembele, co-I: Dr Ali Heidari.
Most recently completed funded research projects
- Investigation of new engineering solutions to improve fire protection by water mist curtains. Leverhulme Trust–Visiting Professorship Grant, 2019-2020. Principal Investigator (PI): Dr Siaka Dembele.
- Efficient methods for radiative heat transfer analysis in fires and water sprays for fire suppression. EU HORIZON2020 MSCA-IF Grant, 2017-2019. Principal Investigator (PI): Dr Siaka Dembele.
- Safe LNG - Numerical characterization and simulation of the complex physics underpinning the Safe handling of Liquefied Natural Gas. EU FP7 ITN Grant 2014-2018. Principal Investigator (PI): Prof. Jennifer X. Wen, Kingston University co-I: Dr Siaka Dembele.
- Optimisation of the Fire Protection Performance of Water Mist based on an Advanced Analytical Approach. Royal Academy of Engineering-Distinguished Visiting Fellowship Scheme, 2015. Principal Investigator (PI): Dr Siaka Dembele.
Qualifications
- PhD in Thermal and Energy Engineering
Specialisms
- Fire and Combustion Systems modelling and simulations with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
- Radiation heat transfer and gas radiation modelling in high temperature environments
- Fire suppression by water sprinklers, water sprays and water mist
- Modelling spray formation in sprinklers and mists
- Glazing behaviour in fires
- Energy systems
Professional and scholarly affiliations
- Elected Member of the Executive Committee - International Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer (ICHMT)
- Elected Member of the Scientific Council - International Water Mist Association (IWMA)
- Member of the Peer Review College - EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)
- Member of the International Association for Fire Safety Sciences (IAFSS)
- Member of the UK Heat Transfer Society
- Director of Research and Enterprise for the School of Engineering (since April 2022).
- Lead - Kingston University REF (Research Excellence Framework) Unit of Assessment 12 (Engineering). (since April 2022).
In these roles, I am closely involved in the management of research and enterprise activities in the University, and the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Environment.
University responsibilities
- School Director of Research and Enterprise
- Lead - Kingston University REF Unit of Assessment UoA12 - Engineering
- Member ECE Faculty Research and Knowledge Exchange Coordination team
Publications
NS simulations and mathematical modelling of minimum ignition energy for lean to stoichiometric methane-air mixtures for 1–30 bar
Vasudevan, Sooraj Paleli, Muppala, Siva PR, Dembele, Siaka and Heidari, Ali, 2025, Applied Thermal Engineering (279), C, Published
Advancing the prediction of evaporation rate of liquid pool fires in mechanically ventilated compartments using computational fluid dynamics
Ukairo, Okorie, Dembele, Siaka, Heidari, Ali, Pretrel, Hugues and Volkov, Konstantin, 2025, Fire Technology (61), 5 pp 3481-3499, Published
An improved solution for shielding of thermal radiation from fires using mist curtains of pure water or sea water
Dombrovsky, Leonid A. and Dembele, Siaka, 2022, Computational Thermal Sciences (14), 4 pp 1-18, Published
Investigation of fires in a mechanically ventilated compartment using the CFD code FireFOAM Nuclear Engineering and Design
Ukairo, Okorie, Dembele, Siaka, Heidari, Ali, Pretrel, Hugues and Wen, Jennifer, 2021, Nuclear Engineering and Design (384), Published
A comparative analysis of shielding of thermal radiation of fires using mist curtains containing droplets of pure water or sea water
Dombrovsky, Leonid A., Levashov, Vladimir Yu, Kryukov, Alexei P., Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer X., 2020, International Journal of Thermal Sciences (152), Published
Predicting Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) rollovers using Computational Fluid Dynamics
Hubert, Antoine, Dembele, S., Denissenko, Petr and Wen, Jennifer, 2019, Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries (62), Published
Non-grey radiative heat transfer modelling in LES-CFD simulated methanol pool fires
Sikic, Ivan, Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer, 2019, Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer (234) pp 78-89, Published
Numerical simulation of flashing jets atomisation using a unified approach
Lyras, Konstantinos G., Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer X., 2019, International Journal of Multiphase Flow (113) pp 45-58, Published
Two-step method for radiative transfer calculations in a developing pool fire at the initial stage of its suppression by a water spray
Dombrovsky, Leonid A., Dembele, Siaka, Wen, Jennifer X. and Sikic, Ivan, 2018, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (127), B pp 717-726, Published
An infrared scattering by evaporating droplets at the initial stage of a pool fire suppression by water sprays
Dombrovsky, Leonid A., Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer X., 2018, Infrared Physics and Technology (91) pp 55-62, Published
Numerical simulation of subcooled and superheated jets under thermodynamic non-equilibrium
Lyras, Konstantinos, Dembele, Siaka, Schmidt, David P. and Wen, Jennifer X., 2018, International Journal of Multiphase Flow (102) pp 16-28, Published
Numerical simulation of flash-boiling through sharp-edged orifices
Lyras, Konstantinos, Dembele, Siaka, Vyazmina, Elena, Jallais, Simon and Wen, Jennifer, 2018, International Journal of Computational Methods and Experimental Measurements (6), 1 pp 176-185, Published
A simplified model for the shielding of fire thermal radiation by water mists
Dombrovsky, Leonid A., Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer X., 2016, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (96) pp 199-209, Published
Shielding of fire radiation with the use of multi-layered water mist curtains: preliminary estimates
Dombrovskiy, Leonid A., Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer X., 2016, Computational Thermal Sciences (8), 4 pp 371-380, Published
Predicting radiative characteristics of hydrogen and hydrogen/methane jet fires using FireFOAM
Wang, C. J., Wen, J. X., Chen, Z. B. and Dembele, S., 2014, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (39), 35 pp 20560-20569, Published
Analysis of the screening of hydrogen flares and flames thermal radiation with water sprays
Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer X., 2014, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (39), 11 pp 6146-6159, Published
Large eddy simulation of a medium-scale methanol pool fire using the extended eddy dissipation concept
Chen, Zhibin, Wen, Jennifer, Xu, Baopeng and Dembele, Siaka, 2014, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (70) pp 389-408, Published
Analysis of a semi-empirical sprinkler spray model
Aghajani, Hamed, Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer X., 2014, Fire Safety Journal (64) pp 1-11, Published
Extension of the eddy dissipation concept and smoke point soot model to the LES frame for fire simulations
Chen, Zhibin, Wen, Jennifer, Xu, Baopeng and Dembele, Siaka, 2014, Fire Safety Journal (64) pp 12-26, Published
Development of a dynamic model for crack propagation in glazing system under thermal loading
Wang, Qingsong, Chen, Haodong, Wang, Yu, Wen, Jennifer X., Dembele, Siaka, Sun, Jinhua and He, Linghui, 2014, Fire Safety Journal (63) pp 113-124, Published
Process control for the synthesis of ZrO2 nanoparticles using FSP at high production rate
Torabmostaedi, H., Zhang, T., Foot, P., Dembele, S. and Fernandez, C., 2013, Powder Technology (246) pp 419-433, Published
Thermal breakage of window glass in room fires conditions - Analysis of some important parameters
Dembele, Siaka, Rosario, Ricardo A.F. and Wen, Jennifer X., 2012, Building and Environment (54) pp 61-70, Published
Assessment of an unstructured exponential scheme discrete ordinates radiation model for non-gray media
Dembele, S., Lima, K. L.M. and Wen, J. X., 2011, Heat and Mass Transfer (47), 11 pp 1349-1362, Published
Thermal and stress analysis of glazing in fires and glass fracture modeling with a probabilistic approach
Dembele, S., Rosario, R. A.F., Wang, Q. S., Warren, P. D. and Wen, J. X., 2010, Numerical Heat Transfer Part B (58), 6 pp 419-439, Published
The effect of pressure boundary rupture rate on spontaneous ignition of pressurized hydrogen release
Xu, B. P., Wen, J. X., Dembele, S., Tam, V. H.Y. and Hawksworth, S. J., 2009, Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries (22), 3 pp 279-287, Published
Investigation of turbulence models for CFD simulations of gas and liquid pool fires
Zhang, J., Dembele, S. and Wen, J. X., 2009, Journal of Fire Sciences (27), 2 pp 157-182, Published
Large eddy simulation of the backdraft phenomenon
Ferraris, S. A., Wen, J. X. and Dembele, S., 2008, Fire Safety Journal (43), 3 pp 205-225, Published
Numerical study on the spontaneous ignition of pressurized hydrogen release through a tube into air
Xu, B. P., El Hima, L., Wen, J. X., Dembele, S., Tam, V. H.Y. and Donchev, T., 2008, Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries (21), 2 pp 205-213, Published
Investigation of glazing behavior in a fire environment using a spectral discrete ordinates method for radiative heat transfer
Dembele, S., Rosario, R. A.F. and Wen, J. X., 2007, Numerical Heat Transfer Part B (52), 6 pp 489-506, Published
Assessments of spectral narrow band and weighted-sum-of-gray-gases models for computational fluid dynamics simulations of pool fires
Dembele, S., Zhang, J. and Wen, J.X., 2005, Numerical Heat Transfer Part B (48), 3 pp 257-276, Published
Effect of radiation models on CFD simulations of upward flame spread
Zhang, Jianping, Dembele, Siaka, Karwatzki, John and Wen, Jennifer X., 2005, Fire Safety Science (8) pp 421-432, Published
Large-eddy simulation of a large-scale methane pool fire
Ferraris, S., Wen, J. X. and Dembele, S., 2005, Fire Safety Science (8) pp 963-974, Published
Predicting Glazing Behaviour in a Fire Environment - Effect of Radiation Models
Dembele, S. and Wen, J., 2005, FABIG Newsletter (R570), 45, Published
Large eddy simulation of a backdraft with watermist
Magda, S. I., Ferraris, S. A., Wen, J. X., Dembele, S. and Karwatzki, J. M., 2004, Journal of Applied Fire Science (13), 3 pp 213-229, Published
Evaluation of fast correlated-k approach for radiation calculations in combustion systems
Dembele, S. and Wen, J. X., 2003, Numerical Heat Transfer Part B (44), 4 pp 365-385, Published
Assessment of spectral narrow band and global gas radiation models for computational fluid dynamics simulations of pool fires
Dembele, S., Zhang, J. and Wen, J. X., 2003, Numerical Heat Transfer, Part B: Fundamentals (44), 4 pp 365-385, Published
Evaluation of the correlated-k and other gas radiation models for combustion applications
Dembele, Siaka, Zhang, Jianping and Wen, Jennifer X., 2003, Proceedings of the Seventh International Symposium Fire Safety Science (7) pp 927-938, Published
Predicting Glazing Behaviour in a Fire Environment - Effect of Radiation Heat Transfer Models
Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer, 2003, FABIG Newsletter, 45, Published
Experimental study of water sprays for the atttenuation of fire thermal radiation
Dembele, S., Wen, J. X. and Sacadura, J. F., 2001, Journal of Heat Transfer (123), 3 pp 534-543, Published
Investigation of a spectral formulation for radiative heat transfer in one-dimensional fires and combustion systems
Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer X., 2000, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (43), 21 pp 4019-4030, Published
Analysis of the two-flux model for predicting water spray transmittance in fire protection application
Dembele, S., Wen, J. X. and Sacadura, J. F., 2000, Journal of Heat Transfer (122), 1 pp 183-186, Published
Predicting the mass burning rates of liquid pool fires using CFD techniques
Dembele, S. and Wen, J.X., 2000, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute (B), Published
A method for modeling the mitigation of hazardous fire thermal radiation by water spray curtains
Dembele, S., Delmas, A. and Sacadura, J. F., 1997, Journal of Heat Transfer (119), 4 pp 746-753, Published
An improved solution for shielding of thermal radiation of fires using mist curtains of pure water or sea water
Dombrovsky, Leonid and Dembele, Siaka (2021). [Published]
Analytical study of minimum ignition energy of single and dual fuels: a short review
Vasudevan, Sooraj PM, Muppala, Siva PR, Vendra, C. Madhav Rao, Heidari, Ali and Dembele, Siaka (2021). [Published]
Thermal and stress analysis of glazing systems under fire conditions
Dembele, S., Rosario, R., Wen, J.X., Williams, I. and Warren, P. D. (2010). [Published]
Towards large eddy simulation of LNG pool fires
Chen, Z. B., Dembele, S., Wen, J. X. and Tam, V. H.Y. (2009). pp 326-335 [Published]
RANS studies of minimum ignition energy of stoichiometric laminar methane/air fuel mixtures
Vasudevan, Sooraj P.M., Muppala, Siva, Madhov Rao, Vendra C., Heidari, Ali and Dembele, Siaka(2022). [Published]
An improved solution for shielding of thermal radiation of fires using mist curtains of pure water or sea water
Dombrovsky, Leonid and Dembele, Siaka(2021). [Published]
Analytical study of minimum ignition energy of single and dual fuels: a short review
Vasudevan, Sooraj PM, Muppala, Siva PR, Vendra, C. Madhav Rao, Heidari, Ali and Dembele, Siaka(2021). [Published]
Two-step iterative method for radiative transfer calculations in axisymmetric flames containing absorbing and scattering particles
Dembele, Siaka, Wen, Jennifer X., Sikic, Ivan and Dombrovsky, Leonid(2018). [Published]
Suppression of pool fires by water sprays: the effect of light scattering by evaporating droplets
Dombrovskiy, Leonid, Dembele, Siaka, Wen, Jennifer and Sikic, Ivan(2018). [Published]
Numerical prediction of liquid pool fires burning rate with a CFD approach
Alam, Maqsood, Dembele, Siaka, Madhav Rao, Vendra C. and Wen, Jennifer(2016). [Published]
Shielding of fire radiation with the use of multi-layered water mist curtains: preliminary estimates
Dombrovskiy, Leonid A., Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer X.(2016). [Published]
Investigation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) dispersion using computational fluid dynamics
Volkov, Konstantin, Wen, Jennifer, Udechukwu, Izunna, Dembele, Siaka and Heidari, Ali(2014). [Published]
Computational fluid dynamics simulation of LNG dispersion using openFOAM
Udechukwu, Izunna D, Dembele, Siaka, Heidari, Ali, Volkov, Konstantin N and Wen, Jennifer X(2014). [Published]
Theoretical modelling of sprinkler sprays
Dembele, S, Aghajani, H and Wen, J(2013). [Published]
Modelling of Sprinkler Sprays using Deterministic and Stochastic Approaches
Aghajani, Hamed, Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer(2013). [Published]
Modeling sprinkler sprays
Aghajani, Hamed, Dembele, Siaka and Wen, Jennifer(2011). [Published]
Large eddy simulation of fire dynamics with the improved eddy dissipation concept
Chen, Zhibin, Wen, Jennifer, Xu, Baopeng and Dembele, Siaka(2011). [Published]
The extension of the eddy dissipation concept (EDC) to the LES framework in FireFOAM
Chen, Z.B., Wen, J.X., Xu, B.P. and Dembele, S.(2011). [Published]
Large eddy simulation of fire dynamics using a mixture fraction based discrete reaction model
Xu, B., Chen, Z., Wen, J.X. and Dembele, S.(2010). [Published]
Thermal and stress analysis of glazing systems under fire conditions
Dembele, S., Rosario, R., Wen, J.X., Williams, I. and Warren, P. D.(2010). [Published]
Large eddy simulation of a one meter diameter methane fire using the extended discrete reaction model
Xu, B.P., Chen, Z.B., Wen, J.X., Zhubrin, S., Dembele, S., Wang, Y. and Dorofeev, S.(2010). [Published]
Towards large eddy simulation of LNG pool fires
Dembele, S., Wen, J.X., Tam, V.H.Y. and Chen, Z.B.(2009). [Published]
Numerical investigation on the effectiveness of water spray deluge in providing cooling, smoke dilution and radiation attenuation in fires
Wen, Jennifer, Dembele, Siaka, Yang, Manjiang, Tam, Vincent and Wang, Jian(2008). [Published]
Numerical study of glazing behaviour in fire conditions
Wen, J.X., Rosario, A. F., Dembele, S, Norbert, W, Varma, K.S., Dale, S, Wood, M and Warren, P.D.(2008). [Published]
Numerical study on spontaneous ignition of direct release of pressurized hydrogen into air
Wen, J.X., Xu, B.P., Dembele, S., Tam, V.H.Y. and Hawksworth, S.J.(2008). [Published]
Predicting spontaneous ignition of under-expanded hydrogen jets: the issue of numerical accuracy
Xu, Baopeng, Wen, Jennifer, Dembele, Siaka and Tam, Vincent(2008). [Published]
Simulation of glazing behavior in fires using computational fluids dynamics and spectral radiation modeling
Dembele, Siaka, Rosario, Ricardo, Wen, Jennifer, Warren, Paul and Dale, Stuart(2008). [Published]
The effect of pressure boundary rupture rate on the spontaneous ignition of pressurized hydrogen release
Wen, J. X., Xu, B., Dembele, S. and Tam, V. H. Y.(2008). [Published]
Effectiveness of water deluge in fire suppression and mitigation
Dembele, S., Tam, V.H.Y., Ferraris, S., Rosario, A.F. and Wen, J.X.(2007). [Published]
Exploratory study of underexpanded sonic hydrogen jets
Dembele, S., Zhang, J. and Wen, J.(2007). [Published]
Exploratory study of under-expanded sonic hydrogen jets and the resulting jet flames
Zhang, J, Zu, B.P., Dembele, S. and Wen, J.X.(2007). [Published]
Numerical study of a highly under-expanded hydrogen jet
Xu, B.P, Zhang, J.P., Wen, J.X., Dembele, S. and Karwatzki, J.(2005). [Published]
Numerical and experimental investigation of flame spread over a PMMA surface
Zhang, J., Ferraris, S., Dembele, S., Wen, J., Goransson, U., Petersson, P. and Holmstedt, G(2004). [Published]
Shielding fire thermal radiation by water spray curtains: some improvements in radiative transfer modelling
Dembele, S, Delmas, A and Sacadura, JF(1996). [Published]