Wei Zhang Ph.D.

Lecturer

Dr. Wei Zhang obtained a BEng degree in Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering and an MSc in Hydraulic Structure Engineering from Hohai University in Nanjing, China. She continued her studies at the Laboratoire d'Hydraulique Saint-Venant (a joint- laboratory of ENPC, EDF, and CEREMA) in Paris, where she obtained her Ph.D. for the study entitled: 'Three-dimensional simulation of scour erosion around an obstacle'. In May 2020, she got a Lecturer position in Fluid Mechanics in the Department of Civil Engineering at XJTLU.

Her research interests include code development of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), parallel computing (HPC), free-surface flow, sediment transport, turbulence modeling (LES, DNS), and engineering applications in industry.


  • Ph.D., Fluid Mechanics, Ecole des Ponts ParisTech, 2016-2019
  • MSc, Hydraulic Structure Engineering, Hohai University, 2013-2016
  • BEng, Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, 2009-2013


  • Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University - 2020 to Present


  • Turbulence modeling: Numerical test-case study of turbulence by Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS), Large-Eddy Simulation (LES)
  • Free surface flow: Numerical study of free-surface flow based on sigma-transformation method
  • Sediment transport: Numerical study of suspended load in open channel flow and three-dimensional scour erosion around a circular cylinder
  • Finite Volume Methods (FVM): Development of Navier-Stokes equations solver based on unstructured grids and highly massive paralleled (MPI,CUDA)
  • Finite Element Methods (FEM): Dynamic analysis of reinforcement design in engineering and concrete damage model


  • MU Zapata, W Zhang, L Marois, A Hammouti, DP Van Bang, KD Nguyen. Two-phase experimental and numerical studies on scouring at the toe of vertical seawall. European Journal of Mechanics-B/Fluids. 2022
  • W Zhang, MU Zapata, X Bai, DP Van Bang, KD Nguyen. An unstructured finite volume method based on the projection method combined momentum interpolation with a central scheme for three-dimensional nonhydrostatic turbulent flows. European Journal of Mechanics-B/Fluids,2020
  • W Zhang, M Uh Zapata, D Pham Van Bang, KD Nguyen. Three-dimensional hydrostatic curved channel flow simulations using non-staggered triangular grids, Water,2022
  • L.H. Zhao, W. Zhang, T.Y. Yan, T.C. Li. Simulation of damage evolution for reinforced concrete beams based on single spring joint element method. Solid Mechanics xue bao. 2015 (In Chinese)
  • W. Zhang, M. Uh Zapata, X. Bai, D. Pham-Van-Bang, K.D. Nguyen. 3D simulation of horseshoes vortex and local scours around a vertical cylinder using an unstructured finite-volume technique. International Journal of sediment research. 2020.
  • M. Uh Zapata, W. Zhang, X. Bai, D. Pham-Van-Bang, K.D. Nguyen. A parallel unstructured finite volume method for 3D free-surface flows. Computers & Fluids. 2019.
  • L.H. Zhao, W. Zhang, X. Bai, T.Y. Yan and T.C. Li, Single Spring Joint Element Method based on the Mixed Coordinate System, Mathematical problems in engineering, 2015.
  • L.H. Zhao, B.W. Guo, X. Bai,W. Zhang, T.C. Li and J.J.R. Williams, Finite element modelling of local scour below a pipeline under steady currents, International Journal of Computational Fluid Dynamics, 2015.


  • 2017-2018, 3rd Sino-French workshop on water science/ A two-dimensional x/z two-phase model using a new fluid-solid particle interaction
  • 2018-2019, 6th International conference on estuaries and coasts(ICEC-2018)/3D free surface non-hydrostatic flows around a vertical pile
  • 2019-2020, 4th Symposium on two-phase modeling for sediment dynamics (THESIS)/ Two-phase numerical simulation of scour erosion at the toe of a vertical seawall


  • 2022, PI, 2022 Jiangsu Science and Technology Programme - Young Scholar (江苏省自然科学基金-青年项目)
  • 2021, PI, 2021 Natural Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education(江苏省高等学校-面上项目)
  • 2020, PI, XJTLU Research Development Fund (RDF-20-01-09)


  • CEN112 Engineering Skills
  • CEN205 Hydraulics
  • CEN210 Water Resources Engineering 1


  • 2016-2019, Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC)
Wei Zhang