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Chengwang Lei

Chengwang Lei photo

BE (HUST) ME (HUST) PhD (UWA)
Associate Professor



School of Civil Engineering, Room 342
Phone: +61 2 9351 2457
Fax: +61 2 9351 3343
Email:

About Chengwang

Associate Professor Chengwang Lei obtained his Bachelor and Master degrees in Mechanical Engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China. Following his Master degree he worked as a Mechanical Engineer in a machinery company in China for 3 years before moving to Australia in 1995. Chengwang’s PhD study was conducted in the then Department of Civil & Resource Engineering at The University of Western Australia, and his PhD research project was on hydrodynamics of offshore pipelines. After finishing his PhD in 1999, Chengwang worked exclusively in the School of Engineering at James Cook University (JCU) for 10 years, where he had held a number of research and teaching positions across multiple disciplines. He was an ARC Australian Postdoctoral Fellow in Civil & Environmental Engineering between 2001 and 2003, and took up a lectureship in Mechanical Engineering in 2003. Before joining the School of Civil Engineering at The University of Sydney in September 2009, he was an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering at James Cook University. Currently he is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering at JCU.

Research interests & current/recent research projects

Chengwang’s recent research is mainly focused on buoyancy driven flows particularly with environmental and industrial applications. Previously Chengwang also had research experience in hydrodynamics of offshore pipelines, which is highly relevant to offshore industry. His research interest spans over experimental modelling, numerical simulation and analytical investigation of a range of fluid and thermal problems. He has been involved in the following investigations:

  • Hydrodynamics of offshore pipelines
  • Characterization of natural convection boundary layers
  • Natural convection heat transfer in buildings and other confined spaces
  • Natural convection induced transport in natural water bodies
  • Enhancement of natural convection heat transfer
  • Solar thermal energy technology
  • Magnetic convection with and without gravity

The following research approaches and modelling techniques have been applied to or developed from Chengwang and co-workers’ research:

  • Wind tunnel experiments
  • Shadowgraph flow visualization
  • Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)
  • Particle Image Thermometry (PIT)
  • Concurrent PIT and PIV measurements of buoyancy driven flow
  • Scaling analysis
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Direct stability analysis

Recent Publications

  1. Bednarz, T., Lei, C. & Patterson, J.C. Various aspects of camera settings and image processing in the calibration of thermo-chromic liquid crystals for accurate Particle Image Thermometry measurements, Journal of Visualization, Accepted (14/09/2009).
  2. Bednarz, T., Lin, W., Patterson, J.C., Lei, C. & Armfield, S.W. Scaling for unsteady thermo-magnetic convection boundary layer of paramagnetic fluids of Pr > 1 in microgravity conditions, International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, Accepted (30/08/2009).
  3. Mao, Y, Lei, C. & Patterson, J.C. Unsteady near-shore natural convection induced by surface cooling, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Accepted (24/08/2009).
  4. Xu, F., Patterson, J.C. & Lei, C. Transient natural convection flows around a thin fin on the sidewall of a differentially heated cavity, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Accepted (29/06/2009).
  5. Mao, Y, Lei, C. & Patterson, J.C. Characteristics of instability of radiation-induced natural convection in shallow littoral waters, International Journal of Thermal Science, Available online (31/07/2009).
  6. Xu, F., Patterson, J.C. & Lei, C. (2009) Heat transfer through coupled thermal boundary layers induced by a suddenly generated temperature difference, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 52(21-22), 4966-4975.
  7. Bednarz, T., Patterson, J.C., Lei, C. & Ozoe, H. (2009) Enhancing natural convection in a cube using a strong magnetic field – experimental heat transfer rate measurements and flow visualization, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 36(8), 781-786.
  8. Bednarz, T., Lei, C. & Patterson, J.C. (2009) Unsteady natural convection induced by diurnal temperature changes in a reservoir with slowly varying bottom topography, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 48(10), 1932-1942.
  9. Patterson, J.C., Lei, C., Armfield, S.W. & Lin, W. (2009) Scaling of unsteady natural convection boundary layers with a non-instantaneous initiation, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 48(10), 1843-1852.
  10. Bednarz, T., Lei, C. & Patterson, J.C. (2009) An experimental study of unsteady natural convection in a reservoir model subject to periodic thermal forcing, Experiments in Fluids, 47(1), 107-117.
  11. Lin, W., Armfield, S.W., Patterson, J.C. & Lei, C. (2009) Scaling with the Pr variation for unsteady natural convction boundary layers of Pr > 1 fluids under isothermal heating, Physical Review E, 79, Paper No 066313. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.79.066313.
  12. Bednarz, T., Lei, C. & Patterson, J.C. (2009) Suppressing Rayleigh-Benard convection in a cube using a strong magnetic field – experimental heat transfer rate measurements and flow visualization, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 36(2), 97-102.
  13. Bednarz, T., Lei, C. & Patterson, J.C. (2009) A numerical study of unsteady natural convection induced by iso-flux surface cooling in a reservoir model, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 52(1-2), 56-66.
  14. Bednarz, T., Lei, C., Patterson, J.C. & Ozoe, H. (2009) Effects of a transverse, horizontal magnetic field on natural convection of a paramagnetic fluid in a cube, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 48(1), 26-33.
  15. Xu, F., Patterson, J.C. & Lei, C. (2009) Transition to a periodic flow induced by a thin fin on the sidewall of a differentially heated cavity, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 52(3-4), 620-628.

Teaching and Learning

  • CIVL2611 Fluid Mechanics - Inviscid Flow
  • CIVL5669 Applied Fluid Engineering Computing

School & University Service

  • Director Postgraduate Coursework
  • Year Advisor - SIDs 311xxxxx (surnames A-K)

Professional Service and Memberships

  • Member and Secretary for Newsletter of the Australasian Fluid and Thermal Engineering Society
  • Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  • Former member of the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers
  • Member of the Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES) and the International Solar Energy Society (ISES)
  • Member of the Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society (AFMS)