Yan Zhang

Associate Professor

Faculty

Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Yan Zhang

Dr. Yan Zhang received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Iowa State University in 2013 and his B.S. degree in Energy and Power Engineering from Xi’an Jiaotong University, China, in 2008. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Western Michigan University between 2013 and 2015. He joined NDSU in 2015 as an Assistant Professor. His current and past research spans a wide spectrum of cross-disciplinary fluid dynamics topics, including cardiovascular hemodynamics, biofluid dynamics, low-speed aerodynamics, multiphase transport, wind modeling, and wind energy.

Areas of Study & Research

  • Advanced flow diagnostics including: Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV), Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV), Ultrasound Imaging and Echo-PIV
  • Fundamental fluid dynamics and turbulence transition in biological pulsatile flows
  • Cardiovascular system modeling, heart valve hemodynamics, fluid-structure interaction, and in vitro testing
  • Biomimetic aerodynamics, wind engineering, and wind hazards

Courses Taught

Undergraduate Courses

  • BME 220 - Intro to Biomedical Engineering

  • ME 222 - Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics

  • ME 351 - Thermodynamics I

  • ME 454 - Heat and Mass Transfer

  • ME 457 - Thermal Systems Laboratory

  • ME 488/688 - Introduction to Aerodynamics

Graduate Courses

  • ME 751 - Advanced Thermodynamics

  • ME 753 - Gas Dynamics

  • ME 761 - Advanced Heat Transfer

Previous Work

  • US DOT PHMSA, Co-PI, "Development of corrosion/erosion threat assessment methodologies and enriched preventive and mitigative measures to promote safety of gas gathering pipelines" 10/2021 - 09/2023
  • US DOD, Co-PI, "High-Speed Volumetric Measurement System for Spatially and Temporally Resolved Flow and Surface Measurements" 03/2022-02/2023
  • ND NASA EPSCoR, PI "Jugular Venous Blood Stasis in Microgravity: An integrated study of Pulsatile flow-vein-valve interaction", 10/2020– 09/2021
  • American Heart Association (AHA AIREA Award), PI, "Enhancement of Left Atrial Appendage Flow using Artificial Superhydrophobic Surface", 07/2019 – 06/2022
  • ND NASA EPSCoR, PI "Digital Astronaut: A Computer Simulation of Cardiovascular Hemodynamics in Microgravity", 01/2018-06/2018

Current Grants

  • NIH (NHLBI, R01), Co-PI, "The pulmonary visceral pleura (PVP) aortic valve", 01/2025 - 12/2028
  • ND NASA EPSCoR, PI, "Multiphase Fluid Transport in Hyperelastic Tubes: A Combined Experimental-Computational Approach for Space Physiology", 01/2025-06/2026
  • NSF (MRI), PI, "Acquisition of A Research Ultrasound System for Multidisciplinary Flow and Fluid-Structure Interaction Studies", 05/2024 - 04/2027
  • NSF (CBET, FD), PI, "Understanding Pulsatile Helical Flow: Scaling, Turbulence, and Helicity Control", 01/2024-12/2026

Links

University Affiliations

Mechanical Engineering

Education

  • Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, Iowa State University, 2013
  • B.S., Energy and Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China, 2008

Publications

  1. Chowdhury, Sifat Karim, and Yan Zhang. "An experimental study of fluid–structure interaction and self-excited oscillation in thin-walled collapsible tube." Physics of Fluids 36.7 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0211227
  2. Zhang Y., Eichholz B., and Zhang R. "Evolution of vortex structures in an open deep cavity under pulsatile flow conditions: An experimental study". Physics of Fluids 34, 091902 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0111653
  3. Zhang Y., Zhang R., Thomas N., Ullah AH., Eichholz B., Estevadeordal J., Suzen YB. “Experimental and Computational Study of Pulsatile Flow Characteristics in Romanesque and Gothic Aortic Arch Models,” Medical Engineering and Physics, Volume 102, April 2022, 103784. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2022.103784
  4. Rui Miao, Xiaoou Hu, Yao Yu, Yan Zhang, Mark Wood, Gaylord Olson, Huojun Yang. “Evaluation of cooling performance of a novel dual-purpose solar thermal collector through numerical simulations”, Applied Thermal Engineering 204 (2022): 117966. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2021.117966.
  5. Zhang, R., & Zhang, Y. Experimental analysis of pulsatile flow characteristics in prosthetic aortic valve models with stenosis. Medical Engineering & Physics, 2020, 79, 10-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2020.03.004