Sheng Xu

Research:

Computational techniques for problems in fluid mechanics and aerodynamics, including biological flows, supersonic and hypersonic turbulence, flow control, and fluid dynamics of nature's flyers and swimmers.

Professor Xu's research interests center on the development of computational techniques for problems in fluid mechanics and aerodynamics, including biological flows with tissues or membranes, supersonic and hypersonic turbulence with shockwaves, flow control by passive means, and fluid dynamics of nature's flyers and swimmers. The present development focuses on the immersed interface method, which models solids in a fluid with singular forces and solves the fluid flow subject to the singular forces by incorporating jump conditions into numerical schemes. The method is currently used to study the wing pitch reversal and fore-hind wing interaction in dragonfly flight.

Prior to joining the faculty at SMU, Professor Xu worked for GE Energy on steam turbine aerodynamics. He also worked at Cornell University and Princeton University as a post-doctoral research associate. His published work has appeared in Journal of Computational Physics, SIAM Journal on Scientific Computing, Physics of Fluids, and Journal of Fluid Mechanics.