Associate Professor Yixiang Gan
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Associate Professor Yixiang Gan

Dr. -Ing (KIT, Germany), FIEAust CMatP
Associate Professor
Associate Head of School (External Engagement), School of Civil Engineering
Deputy Director, The University of Sydney Nano Institute
Phone
+61 2 9351 3721
Fax
+61 2 9351 3343
Associate Professor Yixiang Gan

Dr. Yixiang Gan received the Dr.-Ing degree (with summa cum laude) from the University of Karlsruhe (now Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), Germany. He received the BE/BBA and ME degrees from the Xi'an Jiaotong University, China. He joined USYD in 2010, first as a Postdoctoral fellow, then Lecturer and Senior Lecturer. His research areas include mechanics of granular and porous media, multiphase flow, mechanics of interfaces, heat and electrical conduction, and carbon geo-sequestration.

Granular materials include everything from sand and rocks to flour and salt, and can display some of the characteristics of gases, liquids and solids. They are of interest not only to children playing on the beach but to mining and pharmaceutical engineers as well as a range of other industries. Dr Yixiang Gan studies how they can affect the efficiency and reliability of our energy systems.

"We are living in a time of transition from fossil-based to sustainable energy sources. I don't know what name will be given to this time in the future, but I believe it will be considered as important as the 19th century's industrial revolution.

"In energy systems, granular media are commonly used to store, convert, capture and produce energy. Examples include lithium-ion batteries, solid oxide fuel cells and thermal storage systems.

"The function of granular materials in energy systems involves essentially the transport of electrons, heat and ionic species. Controlling the performance of such systems is encumbered by complex multi-physical interactions of matter and structure across a large range of length scales.

"My research focuses on the fundamental mechanics of heterogeneous materials, including sands, powders and foams. It aims to improve our fundamental understanding of these transport phenomena, to improve the functionality of energy systems and reduce their risks of failure.

"I feel fortunate to be able to work on many types of energy systems, including nuclear fusion and various energy storage systems.

"I'm excited about finding solutions to these engineering challenges. For complex engineering problems, the solutions can often be simple and beautiful.

"I have been working in this field for more than 10 years, and joined the University of Sydney in 2010. The University provides me with the freedom to carry out varied research in a supportive environment."

CIVL6456: Energy Geotechnics

CIVL1802: Statics

CIVL5020:Capstone Project A

CIVL5021:Capstone Project B

CIVL4022:Thesis A

CIVL4023:Thesis B

Research supervision (PhD/MPhil)

  • Transport phenomena in porous media
  • Multiscale mechanics of granular materials
  • Mechanics of unsaturated soils
  • Contact and interface mechanics
  • Rough surfaces and grain morphology
  • Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia (FIEAust)
  • Fellow of the International Association of Advanced Materials (FIAAM)
  • Lifetime Member of the International Society for Porous Media (InterPore)
  • Certified Materials Professional (CMatP), Materials Australia
  • Member of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
  • Member of Australian Geomechanics Society (AGS)
  • Member of Australian Fracture Group
  • Member of The Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE)
Clean energy, Materials and structures
Project titleResearch student
Transport of colloidal particles and co-contaminants in soil and groundwater.Liam DUNCAN
Investigating the Impact of Non-Spherical Soil Particles on Internal Erosion ProcessesYingjie GU
Blockage effects on natural convection in a heated channelSiyu JI
Numerical Simulation of Reservoir Condition Alterations Induced by Biochemical Reactions during Underground Hydrogen StorageYiqun MA
Applying Machine Learning Methods to Predicting Rock BurstRunda WANG
Contact mechanics of soft granular materials with capillary interactionJiayin ZHAO
Probabilistic contamination risk assessment with application to PFOS in aquifers under single-lined landfillsLinxue ZHAO

Publications

Book Chapters

  • Zhang, Y., Hanaor, D., Gan, Y. (2016). Rate effects in inter-granular capillary bridges. In Zhenghan Chen, Changfu Wei, Dean Sun, Yongfu Xu (Eds.), Unsaturated Soil Mechanics - from Theory to Practice, (pp. 463-466). Leiden: CRC Press. [More Information]
  • Nguyen, G., Gan, Y. (2014). A multiphase constitutive modeling framework for unsaturated soil behavior. In N. Khalili, A.R Russell, A. Khoshghalb (Eds.), Unsaturated Soils: Research & Applications (vol 1), (pp. 335-341). Leiden, The Netherlands: CRC Press/Balkema. [More Information]

Journals

  • Wu, J., Gan, Y., Huang, P., Shen, L. (2024). A coarse-grained approach to modeling gas transport in swelling porous media. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 183, 105918. [More Information]
  • Wu, J., Gan, Y., Huang, P., Shen, L. (2024). CO2 transport through swelling organic-rich nanoporous media: Insights on gas permeability from coarse-grained pore-scale simulations. Journal of Cleaner Production, 469, 143253. [More Information]
  • Wei, D., Zhai, C., Song, H., Hurley, R., Huang, S., Gan, Y., Xu, M. (2024). Frictional Contacts Between Rough Grains With Fractal Morphology. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 129(10), e2023JB028361. [More Information]

Conferences

  • Delhomme, F., Castel, A., Almeida, A., Jiang, C., Moreau, D., Gan, Y., Wang, X., Wilkinson, S. (2022). Mechanical, Acoustic and Thermal Performances of Australian Hempcretes. 6th International Conference on Geotechnics, Civil Engineering and Structures, CIGOS 2021, H Long Bay: Springer. [More Information]
  • Shi, Z., Huang, Y., Zhu, Y., Gan, Y., Chen, Z. (2021). Stress-Dependent Two-Phase Flow in Coal Cleats. SPE/AAPG/SEG Asia Pacific Unconventional Resources Technology Conference, Asia Pacific URTeC 2021. Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTEC). [More Information]
  • Huang, P., Shen, L., Gan, Y., Maggi, F., El-Zein, A., Nguyen, G. (2019). A Coarse-Grained Model for Microscale Multiphase Interactions and Its Applications in Dynamic Wetting. International Conference on Computational Methods (10th ICCM), USA: Scientech Publisher llc.

2024

  • Wu, J., Gan, Y., Huang, P., Shen, L. (2024). A coarse-grained approach to modeling gas transport in swelling porous media. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 183, 105918. [More Information]
  • Wu, J., Gan, Y., Huang, P., Shen, L. (2024). CO2 transport through swelling organic-rich nanoporous media: Insights on gas permeability from coarse-grained pore-scale simulations. Journal of Cleaner Production, 469, 143253. [More Information]
  • Wei, D., Zhai, C., Song, H., Hurley, R., Huang, S., Gan, Y., Xu, M. (2024). Frictional Contacts Between Rough Grains With Fractal Morphology. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 129(10), e2023JB028361. [More Information]

2023

  • Bao, Y., Wang, Z., Shi, Z., Gan, Y. (2023). A Modified Weber Number Capturing the Bouncing–Wetting Transition of Droplet Impact on Rough Surfaces. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 10(10). [More Information]
  • Suo, S., Zhai, C., Kamlah, M., Gan, Y. (2023). An unexplored regime of binary packing under extreme mixture conditions. Powder Technology, 428. [More Information]
  • Zhang, Y., Zhang, Z., Zhai, X., Gan, Y., Chalermsinsuwan, B., Wang, X. (2023). CO2-TBAB semi-clathrate hydrate dissociation behaviour in individual capsules: A new two-stage numerical model and parametric study. Chemical Engineering Journal, 470. [More Information]

2022

  • Cheng, Z., Dias-da-Costa, D., Gan, Y., Shen, L. (2022). A modified phase-field model for predicting mixed-mode fracture in rock-like materials. Journal of Micromechanics and Molecular Physics, 7(3-4), 213-224. [More Information]
  • Liu, Q., Wei, D., Zhang, H., Zhai, C., Gan, Y. (2022). A Numerical Investigation on Effective Diffusion in Cement-Based Composites: The Role of Aggregate Shape. Transport in Porous Media, 143(3), 681-702. [More Information]
  • Wang, Z., Pereira, J., Sauret, E., Aryana, S., Shi, Z., Gan, Y. (2022). A pore-resolved interface tracking algorithm for simulating multiphase flow in arbitrarily structured porous media. Advances in Water Resources, 162, 104152. [More Information]

2021

  • Desu, R., Gan, Y., Kamlah, M., Annabattula, R. (2021). Compaction mechanics of a polydisperse crushable spherical granular assembly using discrete element method. International Journal of Advances in Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, 13(1), 114-121.
  • Suo, S., Moscardini, M., Becker, V., Gan, Y., Kamlah, M. (2021). Cyclic thermo-mechanical performance of granular beds: Effect of elastoplasticity. Powder Technology, 394, 705-713. [More Information]
  • Jaggannagari, S., Desu, R., Reimann, J., Gan, Y., Moscardini, M., Annabattula, R. (2021). DEM simulations of vibrated sphere packings in slender prismatic containers. Powder Technology, 393, 31-59. [More Information]

2020

  • Reimann, J., Vicente, J., Ferrero, C., Rack, A., Gan, Y. (2020). 3d tomography analysis of the packing structure of spherical particles in slender prismatic containers. International Journal of Materials Research, 111(1), 65-77. [More Information]
  • Wang, W., Wei, D., Gan, Y. (2020). An experimental investigation on cemented sand particles using different loading paths: Failure modes and fabric quantifications. Construction and Building Materials, 258, 119487. [More Information]
  • Suo, S., Liu, M., Gan, Y. (2020). An LBM-PNM framework for immiscible flow: With applications to droplet spreading on porous surfaces. Chemical Engineering Science, 218, 115577. [More Information]

2019

  • Huang, P., Shen, L., Gan, Y., Maggi, F., El-Zein, A., Nguyen, G. (2019). A Coarse-Grained Model for Microscale Multiphase Interactions and Its Applications in Dynamic Wetting. International Conference on Computational Methods (10th ICCM), USA: Scientech Publisher llc.
  • Bao, Y., Li, L., Shen, L., Lei, C., Gan, Y. (2019). A modified smoothed particle hydrodynamics approach for modelling dynamic contact angle hysteresis. Acta Mechanica Sinica, 35(3), 472-485. [More Information]
  • Wei, D., Zhao, B., Dias-da-Costa, D., Gan, Y. (2019). An FDEM study of particle breakage under rotational point loading. Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 212, 221-237. [More Information]

2018

  • Mirmohammadi, S., Shen, L., Gan, Y. (2018). A reliable approach for calculating thermophysical properties of liquid using molecular dynamics simulations. Chemical Physics Letters, 712, 44-53. [More Information]
  • Huang, P., Shen, L., Gan, Y., Nguyen, G., El-Zein, A., Maggi, F. (2018). Coarse-grained modeling of multiphase interactions at microscale. Journal of Chemical Physics, 149(12), 124505-1-124505-16. [More Information]
  • Pupeschi, S., Moscardini, M., Gan, Y., Knitter, R., Kamlah, M. (2018). Cyclic behavior of ceramic pebble beds under mechanical loading. Fusion Engineering and Design, 134, 11-21. [More Information]

2017

  • Moscardini, M., Gan, Y., Annabattula, R., Kamlah, M. (2017). A Discrete Element Method to simulate the mechanical behavior of ellipsoidal particles for a fusion breeding blanket. Fusion Engineering and Design, 121, 22-31. [More Information]
  • Shi, Z., Gan, Y. (2017). A Grain-Scale Model for Soil-Water Retention Hysteresis. 6th Biot Conference on Poromechanics (Poromechanics 2017), USA: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). [More Information]
  • Zhai, C., Hanaor, D., Gan, Y. (2017). Contact stiffness of multiscale surfaces by truncation analysis. International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 131-132, 305-316. [More Information]

2016

  • Hanaor, D., Gan, Y., Revay, M., Airey, D., Einav, I. (2016). 3D printable geomaterials. Geotechnique, 66(4), 323-332. [More Information]
  • Huang, P., Shen, L., Gan, Y., Maggi, F., El-Zein, A., Nguyen, G. (2016). A Coarse-Grained Approach to Modelling Tensile Fracture of Sand Grains and Surface Tension of Water at Mesoscale. 10th International Conference on Structural Integrity and Failure (SIF-2016): Advances in Materials and Structures, Adelaide: University of Adelaide.
  • Liu, M., Zhang, Y., Wu, J., Gan, Y., Chen, C. (2016). Analytical solutions for elastic response of coated mesoporous materials to pore pressure. International Journal of Engineering Science, 107, 68-76. [More Information]

2015

  • Hanaor, D., Chrzanowski, W., Gan, Y. (2015). An approach for the in-situ specific surface area assessment of aqueous oxide particles. Journal of the Australian Ceramics Society, 51(2), 88-93.
  • Liu, M., Gan, Y., Hanaor, D., Liu, B., Chen, C. (2015). An improved semi-analytical solution for stress at round-tip notches. Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 149, 134-143. [More Information]
  • Hanaor, D., Gan, Y., Einav, I. (2015). Contact mechanics of fractal surfaces by spline assisted discretisation. International Journal of Solids and Structures, 59, 121-131. [More Information]

2014

  • Nguyen, G., Gan, Y. (2014). A multiphase constitutive modeling framework for unsaturated soil behavior. In N. Khalili, A.R Russell, A. Khoshghalb (Eds.), Unsaturated Soils: Research & Applications (vol 1), (pp. 335-341). Leiden, The Netherlands: CRC Press/Balkema. [More Information]
  • Huang, P., Proust, G., Alonso-Marroquin, F., Flores-Johnson, E., Gan, Y., Shen, L., Hanaor, D. (2014). Computing the Friction Coefficient of Fractal Surfaces Using SPOLY. 8th Australasian Congress on Applied Mechanics (ACAM 8), Barton, ACT: Engineers Australia.
  • Fan, Y., Gan, Y., Hanaor, D., Zhang, Y., Einav, I. (2014). Dynamic contact angles of droplets and capillary bridges. 23rd Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials (ACMSM23), Lismore, NSW: Southern Cross University.

2013

  • Einav, I., Rognon, P., Gan, Y., Miller, T., Griffani, D. (2013). 10,000 - A Reason to Study Granular Heat Convection. 7th International Conference on Micromechanics of Granular Media: Powders and Grains 2013, Melville, New York, USA: American Institute of Physics. [More Information]
  • Ott, J., Volker, B., Gan, Y., McMeeking, R., Kamlah, M. (2013). A micromechanical model for effective conductivity in granular electrode structures. Acta Mechanica Sinica, 29(5), 682-698. [More Information]
  • Gan, Y., Maggi, F., Buscarnera, G., Einav, I. (2013). A particle-water based model for water retention hysteresis. Geotechnique Letters, 3(October - December 2013), 152-161. [More Information]

2012

  • Choi, I., Gan, Y., Kaufmann, D., Kraft, O., Schwaiger, R. (2012). Measurement of Young's modulus of anisotropic materials using microcompression testing. Journal of Materials Research, 27(21), 2752-2759. [More Information]
  • Annabattula, R., Gan, Y., Kamlah, M. (2012). Mechanics of binary and polydisperse spherical pebble assembly. Fusion Engineering and Design, 87(5-6), 853-858. [More Information]
  • Annabattula, R., Gan, Y., Zhao, S., Kamlah, M. (2012). Mechanics of crushable pebble assembly using discrete element method. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 430(1-3), 90-95. [More Information]

2011

  • Gan, Y., Kamlah, M., Riesch-Oppermann, H., Rolli, R., Liu, P. (2011). Crush probability analysis of ceramic breeder pebble beds under mechanical stresses. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 417, 706-709. [More Information]

2010

  • Gan, Y., Kamlah, M., Reimann, J. (2010). Computer Simulation of Packing Structure in Pebble Beds. Fusion Engineering and Design, 85, 1782-1787. [More Information]
  • Gan, Y., Kamlah, M. (2010). Discrete element modelling of pebble beds: With application to uniaxial compression tests of ceramic breeder pebble beds. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 58(2), 129-144. [More Information]
  • Gan, Y., Kamlah, M. (2010). Thermo-mechanical modelling of pebble bed-wall interfaces. Fusion Engineering and Design, 85(1), 24-32. [More Information]

2009

  • Rupert, T., Gianola, D., Gan, Y., Hemker, K. (2009). Experimental observations of stress-driven grain boundary migration. Science, 326(5960), 1686-1690. [More Information]
  • Gan, Y., Kamlah, M. (2009). Thermo-mechanical analyses of HELICA and HEXCALIBER mock-ups. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 386-388(C), 1060-1064. [More Information]

2008

  • Gan, Y., Kamlah, M. (2008). Thermo-mechanical analysis of pebble beds in HELICA mock-up experiments. Fusion Engineering and Design, 83(7-9), 1313-1316. [More Information]

2007

  • Gan, Y., Kamlah, M. (2007). Identification of material parameters of a thermo-mechanical model for pebble beds in fusion blankets. Fusion Engineering and Design.

2005

  • Gan, Y., Chen, C., Shen, Y. (2005). Three-dimensional modeling of the mechanical property of linearly elastic open cell foams. International Journal of Solids and Structures.

Selected Grants

2023

  • Monitoring Lithium-ion battery materials: A microstructure-informed framework integrated with electrical impedance measurements, Gan Y, Universities Australia/Germany Joint Research Co-operation scheme

2022

  • Novel framework for optimising battery-cooling microchannel heat exchangers, Gan Y, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP)

In the media