MAE Seminar Series - Xiaolin Zhong, UCLA

Abstract: Due to the difficulty of conducting hypersonic boundary layer transition experiments and the complexity of hypersonic flow, which involves various instability mechanisms, fundamental studies on hypersonic boundary layer transition increasingly rely on numerical simulation as a research tool. In this talk, I will present our research on numerical simulations and theoretical analyses of the physical mechanisms governing hypersonic boundary-layer receptivity, instability, and transition. Such studies contribute to improved prediction methods for boundary-layer transition. Specifically, I will introduce our new high-order finite-difference method for bi-orthogonal decomposition analysis of hypersonic boundary-layer receptivity results. Additionally, I will briefly discuss our computational and theoretical studies on the effects of surface roughness on the stability and transition of hypersonic boundary layers, which serve as the foundation for our passive transition control methodology using strategically placed surface roughness elements. Finally, I will explore the potential practical applications of this technique in the development of hypersonic vehicles. 

Bio: Professor Xiaolin Zhong received his Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University in 1991. Since graduating from Stanford, he has been a faculty member in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at UCLA (Assistant Professor: 1991–1997, Associate Professor: 1997–2002, Professor: 2002–present), where he currently serves as a professor and department chair. His primary research areas include computational fluid dynamics (CFD), computational nonequilibrium hypersonic flows, and the stability and transition of high-speed boundary layers. He is an Associate Fellow of AIAA and served as an Associate Editor of the AIAA Journal from 2005 to 2015. 

Host: Dr. Haibo Dong