Our department offers research opportunities across a diverse range of subjects, including:

Thermofluids and energy technologies

Supervisor: Dr Yong Shi
  • Multiphase flows and heat transfer with applications to automobile thermal management
  • Physicochemical transport phenomena in porous media with applications to energy storage devices
  • Low-speed non-continuum gas flows with applications to micro and nanodevices
  • Electrohydrodynamics with applications to microfluidics
  • Lattice Boltzmann method and Multiscale modeling
Supervisor: Dr Xinyu Zhang
  • Large eddy simulation on gas-droplet turbulent flows in internal engines
  • Numerical study on gas-liquid-particle three-phase flows in bubble columns
  • Numerical study on combustion processes in utility boiler, gas-turbine and internal engine
  • Modeling and simulations on multiphase flows in fuel cells

Dynamics and control

Supervisor: Dr Dunant Halim
  • Energy harvesting from mechanical vibrations
  • Intelligent control for noise and vibration suppression (eg for automotive applications)
  • Sensor network for structural health monitoring 
  • Condition monitoring of electromechanical machines
  • Laser processing of polymer composites
  • Polymer composites from recyclable materials 
  • Simulation and modelling of thermoforming process
  • Processing of thermoplastic composites
Supervisor: Dr Jian Yang
  • Design and analysis of passive/active vibration control systems
  • Incorporating nonlinearity to enhance the dynamic performance of mechanical systems
  • Power flow analysis/statistical energy analysis theory and approaches for nonlinear systems
  • Novel devices for vibration energy harvesting
  • Multi-disciplinary design and optimisation (MDO) of engineering structures
  • Modelling of morphing adaptive aircraft wing structures
  • Employing smart structures/materials to improve vibration and noise suppression
  • Aeroelastic analysis of aircraft wing structures
  • Static & dynamic design and analysis of ship/offshore structures
  • Uncertainty analysis & quantification of linear/nonlinear dynamical systems

Ergonomics 

Supervisor: Dr Xu Sun
  • Human factors in transportation and vehicle design
  • Ergonomics in sustainable design
  • Gerontechnology: design technology for older people
  • Development of research methodologies in interaction design with innovative technologies and products
  • Serious game design and research

Materials engineering

Supervisor: Dr Hao Chen
  • Performance of thermal barrier coatings
  • Thermal spray and cold spray of metallic coatings
  • Creep behavior of super alloys
  • Finite difference modeling of phase evolutions