Welcome
Dr. Xili Duan is leading a research team on Interfacial Thermal Fluids and Energy in the Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering Department at Memorial University. We conduct fundamental research in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer, with applications in energy systems. We have particular interests in phase change heat transfer (such as boiling, freezing and melting), multiphase flow (including nanofluids), and thermal hydraulic dynamics at the solid-liquid interface. The applications include thermal (including solar thermal) energy conversion and storage, thermal management, oil-water-gas separation,drag reduction for pipelines and marine vessels, as well as icing protection in harsh environment.
Openings
We always look for motivated students with strong background in thermal fluids to join our team. For Master and PhD studies please check the School of Graduate Studies website for admission requirements and application. Normally we only admit candidates who meet the SGS funding requirements (Level A, GPA > 80%). Preference will be given to students with thermal fluid research experience and previous publication records. Our research requires skills in experimentation, analytical or numerical modeling on heat transfer, multiphase flow, and interfacial phenomina. The experimental tools we use include contact angle instrument, rheometer, PIV, LDV, infrared thermometry. The numerical tools include Ansys Fluent and CFX,and Lattice Boltzmann methods. Interested candidates please send CV in PDF format to Dr. Duan. Note that only selected candicates will be contacted for an interview. Please don't send multiple inquiries .
NEW Openings: Our research program aims to advance Interfacial Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer for Sustainable Energy Innovations. Several graduate student positions (PhD and MEng) are now open for September 2026 start, for example:(1) coupled turbulent flow and convective heat transfer with super-hydrophobic surfaces; (2) fluid mechanics and phase change in spray freezing and icing, (3) heat transfer and thermal degradation of insulation materials around a high temperature gas pipe.
News
February 2026. Congratulations to Ammar for publishing 2nd journal paper in the Journal of Fluids Engineering!
January 2026. Congratulations to Evans for publishing his first journal paper in Ocean Engineering!
October 2025. Congratulations to Foad for winning a Research Mobilization Knowledge Fellowship!
August 2025. Dr. Duan attended the 12th International Conference on Coastal and Ocean Engineering (ICCOE 2025) in Dalian, China and made an invited presentation on “Drag reduction in turbulent flow with hydrophobic coatings: an experimental study for marine transportation”.
June 2025, Welcome Dr. Md Shaheen Shah to join our team in collaboration with Dr. Zendehboudi (Process) to conduct safety analysis in CO2 capture and storage.
May 2025, Welcome Dr. Seyed Foad Mousavi to join our team in collaboration with Dr. Zhang (ECE) to model fluid-structure interactions for triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) optimization.
March 2025, Dr. Duan and Dr. Pope is collaborating with the Shield Group of Companies on a research project to investigate "Heat Transfer and Thermal Degradation of Multi-Layered Insulation for High-Temperature Gas Pipes".
More news can be found on Dr. Duan's LinkedIn page.
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