Associate Professor Chengwang Lei
BE (HUST) ME (HUST) PhD (UWA)
Associate Professor
Fluid Engineering and Fluid Mechanics
J05 - J05 Civil Engineering Building
The University of Sydney
| Telephone | +61 2 9351 2457 |
| Fax | +61 2 9351 3343 |
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| Website |
Centre for Wind, Waves and Water |
Biographical details
Associate Professor Chengwang Lei obtained his Bachelor and Master of Engineering degrees in Mechanical Engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China and PhD degree in Civil and Resource Engineering at The University of Western Australia. He joined the Environmental Fluids Group at The University of Sydney in 2009 after 10 years service in the School of Engineering at James Cook University, where he held a number of research and teaching positions across multiple disciplines.
Research interests
Associate Professor Chengwang Lei's research has implications for the daily lives of everyone on the planet, from urban-dwelling residents of the world's biggest cities to residents of remote communities in developing countries. He is currently focusing on two main areas: increasing energy efficiency in the built environment, and improving the quality of water sources. Both areas of research are vital to the future health of our planet and its inhabitants.
"Nowadays greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and global warming are all major topics of debate. We know that sooner or later we're going to run out of our conventional non-renewable sources of energy, so we need to both find new sources of renewable energy and increase the efficiency of our use of existing sources. So the two aims of my work in energy efficiency are to minimise our energy consumption for uses such as heating, cooling and ventilation of buildings, and to switch to more natural or renewable sources of energy such as solar or wind power.
"An example of my work on water quality is that I look at how pollutants enter a water system, what happens to them next, how they are transported throughout the water system and how they would affect the quality of our water supply. This research can be applied to small- to medium-scale water systems such as reservoirs and lakes.
"My research involves laboratory experiments, computer modelling and analysis, and the combination of these three approaches is a unique strength of my research group.
"I had been working in these fields for more than a decade before I joined the University of Sydney, and already had good relationships with many of the people here. Working here has enabled me to strengthen and broaden my collaboration with people here and in the wider research community."
Teaching and supervision
CIVL2611 - Introductory Fluid Mechanics
CIVL5505 - Foundations of Introductory Fluid Mechanics
CIVL5669 - Applied Fluid Engineering Computing
Current projects
- Flow over bluff bodies
- Vortex induced vibration
- Buoyancy driven flows
- Thermal boundary layers
- Heat transfer enhancement
- Natural ventilation for buildings
- Exchange and mixing in natural water bodies
- Particle transport in fluids
Associations
- 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)
Selected grants
2013
- Conjugate natural convection boundary layers; Armfield S, Kirkpatrick M, Lei C, Lin W, Patterson J; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP).
2011
- Impact of complex motions on heat exchanger performance; Lei C; DVC Research/Bridging Support Grant.
2010
- Enhancing natural convection heat transfer using a single horizontal non-metallic fin; Lei C, Patterson J; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP).
2009
- Transport by Natural Convection in Reservoir Sidearms; Patterson J, Armfield S, Lei C, Lin W, Kirkpatrick M; Australian Research Council/Discovery Projects (DP).
Selected publications
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