Dr Jafar Al-Zaili
Contact details
About
Overview
Dr Al-Zaili is a member of Turbomachinery and Energy Systems Research Group at City and the Programme Director for Mechanical Engineering. He worked in several engineering positions as design engineer, consultant, R&D engineer and project manager prior to joining City in 2015. Since joining City, he has been involved in a number of research projects, mainly in the field of small-scale gas turbines for renewable energy applications. His current research focus is on:
- Optimisation of micro gas turbines for solar power applications including thermal energy storage, operation and control;
- Low carbon microturbine-based propulsion system for small air vehicles;
- Aero-thermal design of small turbomachines;
- Impact of the distributed generation in large cities on the level of pollution;
- Pricing and market design for distributed generation and microgrids;
- High-temperature Modular compact thermal energy storage with focus on solar applications;
- Pollution reduction for combustion of hydrogen as a carbon-free fuel;
- The dynamics between low-carbon power technologies and supporting policies.
Dr Al-Zaili teaches postgraduate modules "Gas Turbine Engineering" and "Distributed Generation" and undergraduate module "Aerodynamics and Propulsion". He also delivers teaching sessions on Bioenergy for postgraduate students.
Qualifications
- PhD in Aerospace Engineering - funded by EXTICE an EU FP7 project to study extreme aircraft icing conditions for both airframes and the engines. His thesis title was “Semi-Empirical Approach to Characterize Thin Water Film Behaviour in Relation to Droplet Splashing in Modelling Aircraft Icing”., Cranfield University, United Kingdom, 2012
- MSc Aerospace Propulsion, Sharif University of Technology, Iran, 2001
- BSc Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Iran, 1999
- PRINCE2® Practitioner Certificate in Project Management, AEXLOS, United Kingdom
Postgraduate training
- Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, City, University of London, United Kingdom
Employment
- Lecturer in Power and Propulsion, City, University London, United Kingdom, October 2019 - present
- Research Fellow in Turbomachinery and Energy Systems, City, University London, United Kingdom, May 2015 - September 2019
Fellowships
- Fellow of Higher Education Academy, Higher Education Academy
Memberships of committees
- Official Nominator for their VinFuture Prize, VinFuture Foundation Prize
Languages
Arabic (can read, write, speak, understand spoken, peer review) and Persian (can read, write, speak, understand spoken, peer review)
Publications
Publications by category
Chapter
- Iaria, D., Alzaili, J. and Sayma, A.I. (2018). Solar Dish Micro Gas Turbine Technology for Distributed Power Generation. Green Energy and Technology (pp. 119-131). Springer Singapore. ISBN 9789811071874.
Conference papers and proceedings (14)
- Sharma, K., Al-Zaili, J. and Sayma, A. (2023). A System Dynamics Approach to Assess the Impact of Policy Interventions on the Market Penetration of Micro Gas Turbines. ASME Turbo Expo 2023: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition 26-30 June.doi:10.1115/gt2023-101952
- Shamekhi Amiri, S., Al-Zaili, J. and Sayma, A.I. (2022). Development of a Dynamic Model for Simulating the Transient Behaviour of a Solar-Powered Micro Gas Turbine. ASME Turbo Expo 2022: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition 13-17 June.doi:10.1115/gt2022-79059
- Anfossi, J., Al-Zaili, J., El Samad, T. and Sayma, A. (2022). Performance Assessment of a Recuperated Turboshaft Engine: A Multifuel Case. ASME Turbo Expo 2022: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition 13-17 June.doi:10.1115/gt2022-80455
- Samad, T., Al-Zaili, J., Kamuriwo, S., Sayma, A., Manyuchi, K., Kinoti, M.... Tsamenyi, M. A Study on the Market Potential of Biomass-Based Micro Gas Turbines in Sub-Saharan Africa. .doi:10.46855/energy-proceedings-9290
- Rodriguez Aleman, E., Al-Zaili, J. and Sayma, A. (2021). Techno-Economic Analysis of Small-Scale CCHP Systems Focused on Emissions Performance. International Gas Turbine Conference 14-15 October.
- Alzaili, J., White, M. and Sayma, A. Developments in Solar Powered Micro Gas Turbines and Waste Heat Recovery Organic Rankine Cycles. .doi:10.1007/978-3-030-18072-0_51
- Somehsaraei, H.N., Iaria, D., Al Zaili, J., Assadi, M., Sayma, A. and Ghavami, M. (2019). Application of Artificial Neural Networks for Monitoring and Optimum Operation Prediction of Solar Hybrid MGT Systems. ASME Turbo Expo 2019: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition 17-21 June.doi:10.1115/gt2019-91180
- Al Zaili, J., Sayma, A.I. and Iaria, D. (2017). Reducing Levelised Cost of Energy and Environmental Impact of a Hybrid Microturbine-Based Concentrated Solar Power Plant. 2017Global Power and PropulsionForum 30 October-1 November, Shanghai, China.
- Ghavami, M., Alzaili, J. and Sayma, A.I. (2017). A Comparative Study of the Control Strategies for Pure Concentrated Solar Power Micro Gas Turbines. ASME Turbo Expo 2017: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition 26-30 June.doi:10.1115/gt2017-63987
- Sayma, A.I., Iaria, D., Khader, M. and Al Zaili, J. Multi-Objective Optimisation of A Centrifugal Compressor for a Micro Gas Turbine Operated by Concentrated Solar Power. .
- Sayma, A.I. and Al Zaili, J. (2016). Challenges in the Development of Micro Gas Turbines for Concentrated Solar Power Systems. 8th International Gas Turbine Conference – The Future of Gas Turbine Technology 12-13 October, Brussels, Belgium.
- Alzaili, J. and Hammond, D. (2011). Experimental Investigation of Thin Water Film Stability and Its Characteristics in SLD Icing Problem. SAE 2011 International Conference on Aircraft and Engine Icing and Ground Deicing 13 June-.doi:10.4271/2011-38-0064
- Alzaili, J. and Mazaheri, K. (2006). Bulk Viscosity Damping for Accelerating Convergence of Compressible Viscous Flow Solvers. European Conference on Computational Fluid Dynamics.
- Alzaili, J. and Mazaheri, K. (2002). Effect of Adaptation on Numerical Solution of Viscous Compressible Turbulent Flow. The 9th Asian Congress of Fluid Mechanics.
Journal articles (22)
- Shamekhi Amiri, S., Al-Zaili, J. and Sayma, A.I. (2026). Development and Validation of a Transient Electro-Thermo- Mechanical Model for Parabolic Dish Micro Gas Turbines. Energies, 19(5), pp. 1188-1188. doi:10.3390/en19051188
- Rahimzadeh Abdi, A.M., Vakilipour, S. and Al-Zaili, J. (2026). Molecular dynamics simulation study on thermophysical properties of carbon nanotube-enhanced lithium fluoride as a high-temperature phase change material. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 255, pp. 127877-127877. doi:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2025.127877
- Ahmed, R.H., Al-Zaili, J. and Sayma, A.I. (2025). Supercritical CO2 power cycle control strategies: A review. Applied Thermal Engineering, 280, pp. 128135-128135. doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.128135
- Khader, M.A., Sayma, A.I., Al-Zaili, J., Ghavami, M. and Wu, H. (2025). Aerothermal Investigation of the Effect of Endwall Structures on Radial Turbine Heat Losses. Energies, 18(16), pp. 4366-4366. doi:10.3390/en18164366
- Bekhradinasab, A., Vakilipour, S. and Al-Zaili, J. (2025). Influence of swirl number and air preheating on turbulent mixing in hydrogen–methane blends within a swirl-stabilized burner. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 239, pp. 126475-126475. doi:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2024.126475
- Khader, M.A., Ghavami, M., Al-Zaili, J. and Sayma, A.I. (2024). Residential Micro-CHP system with integrated phase change material thermal energy storage. Energy, 300, pp. 131606-131606. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2024.131606
- Boiarkin, V., Bogaz Zarpelao, B., Al-Zaili, J. and Rajarajan, M. (2024). A Privacy-Preserving User-Centric Data-Sharing Scheme. IEEE Access, 12, pp. 149977-149987. doi:10.1109/access.2024.3476209
- Boiarkin, V., Rajarajan, M., Al-Zaili, J. and Asif, W. (2023). A novel dynamic pricing model for a microgrid of prosumers with photovoltaic systems. Applied Energy, 342. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121148
- Abuhaiba, A., Assadi, M., Apostolopoulou, D., Al-Zaili, J. and Sayma, A.I. (2023). Power Transmission and Control in Microturbines’ Electronics: A Review. Energies, 16(9), pp. 3901-3901. doi:10.3390/en16093901
- Jeyaseelan, T., El Samad, T., Rajkumar, S., Chatterjee, A. and Al-Zaili, J. (2023). A techno-economic assessment of waste oil biodiesel blends for automotive applications in urban areas: Case of India. Energy, 271, pp. 127021-127021. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2023.127021
- Ghavami, M., Al-Zaili, J. and Sayma, A.I. (2022). A methodology for techno-economic and operation strategy optimisation of micro gas turbine-based solar powered dish-engine systems. Energy, 251, pp. 123873-123873. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2022.123873
- Danieli, P., Lazzaretto, A., Al-Zaili, J., Sayma, A., Masi, M. and Carraro, G. (2022). The potential of the natural gas grid to accommodate hydrogen as an energy vector in transition towards a fully renewable energy system. Applied Energy, 313, pp. 118843-118843. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.118843
- Lanchi, M., Al-Zaili, J., Russo, V., Falchetta, M., Montecchi, M. and Aichmayer, L. (2022). A Quasi-Steady State Model of a Solar Parabolic Dish Micro Gas Turbine Demonstration Plant. Energies, 15(3), pp. 1059-1059. doi:10.3390/en15031059
- Bekhradinasab, A., Al-Zaili, J. and Vakilipour, S. (2021). Large eddy simulation of separated flow to investigate heat transfer characteristics in an asymmetric diffuser subjected to constant wall heat flux. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 128, pp. 105634-105634. doi:10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2021.105634
- Khader, M.A., Ghavami, M., Al-Zaili, J. and Sayma, A.I. (2021). Heat Transfer Effect on Micro Gas Turbine Performance for Solar Power Applications. Energies, 14(20), pp. 6745-6745. doi:10.3390/en14206745
- Joy, O. and Al-Zaili, J. (2021). On effectiveness of current energy policy instruments to make H2 production projects financially viable for developers: Case of the UK. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 46(65), pp. 32735-32749. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.07.147
- Yang, J., Xiao, G., Ghavami, M., Al-Zaili, J., Yang, T., Sayma, A.... Ni, D. (2021). Thermodynamic modelling and real-time control strategies of solar micro gas turbine system with thermochemical energy storage. Journal of Cleaner Production, 304, pp. 127010-127010. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127010
- Vakilipour, S., Zarafshani, H. and Al-Zaili, J. (2021). Numerical study of longitudinal vein effects on the aerodynamic characteristics of a corrugated bio-airfoil. Computers & Fluids, 216, pp. 104821-104821. doi:10.1016/j.compfluid.2020.104821
- Richards, S.J. and Al Zaili, J. (2020). Contribution of encouraging the future use of biomethane to resolving sustainability and energy security challenges: The case of the UK. Energy for Sustainable Development, 55, pp. 48-55. doi:10.1016/j.esd.2019.12.003
- Vakilipour, S., Tohidi, Y., Al-Zaili, J. and Riazi, R. (2020). A numerical investigation of CO2 dilution on the thermochemical characteristics of a swirl stabilized diffusion flame. Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, 41(2), pp. 327-348. doi:10.1007/s10483-020-2571-6
- Iaria, D., Zhou, X., Al Zaili, J., Zhang, Q., Xiao, G. and Sayma, A. (2019). Development of a Model for Performance Analysis of a Honeycomb Thermal Energy Storage for Solar Power Microturbine Applications. Energies, 12(20), pp. 3968-3968. doi:10.3390/en12203968
- Iaria, D., Nipkey, H., Al Zaili, J., Sayma, A. and Assadi, M. (2018). Development and Validation of a Thermo-Economic Model for Design Optimisation and Off-Design Performance Evaluation of a Pure Solar Microturbine. Energies
Patent
- Al-Zaili, J. and Sayma, A. Modular thermal energy storage apparatus. Patent no. GB2576088
Theses/dissertations (2)
- Alzaili, J. Semi-Empirical Approach To Characterize Thin Water Film Behaviour In Relation To Droplet Splashing In Modelling Aircraft Icing. (PhD)
- Alzaili, J. Numerical Solution of Turbulent Compressible Flow using Unstructured Adaptive Grids. (Master's thesis)
Professional activities
Editorial activity (3)
- Session organiser and member of Cycle Innovations since 2015 member of local liaison committee of ASME TurboExpo 2020, ASME TurboExpo.
- Special Issue in Energies: Advances in Distributed-Scale Solar Thermal Power Technology, Guest Editor.
- CAB member for International Gas Turbine Conference, Memeber of Conference Advisory board.