Welcome to Dr. Yu-Cheng (Frank) Liu, Asst. Professor in Mechanical Engineering!
Name: Yu-Cheng (Frank) Liu
Title: Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering
Department: Computer Science, Engineering, and Physics (CSEP)
Classes I’m teaching:
EGR-350 Fluid Mechanics
EGR-451 Computational Fluid Dynamics
Professional Interests/Activities:
Selected invited seminars:
Y.C. Liu, “Droplet combustion of surrogate and real fuel systems in a low convection condition,” Research Seminar, MOMENTIVE, Richmond Heights, OH, May 14, 2014.
Y.C. Liu, ”Droplet combustion of surrogate and real fuel systems in a low convection condition: ground-based and space-based experiments,” Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas A&M- Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, USA, April 29, 2014.
Y.C. Liu, ”Droplet combustion of surrogate and real fuel systems in a low convection condition,” Research Seminar, The Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, College Station, PA, USA, Feb. 13, 2014.
Y.C. Liu, ”Droplet combustion of surrogate and real fuel systems in a low convection condition: ground-based and space-based experiments,” Research Seminar, Performance Material R&D, Dow Chemical Company, Freeport, TX, USA, Oct. 25, 2013.
Y.C. Liu,”Spherically symmetrical droplet burning: From ground-based surrogate tests to International Space Experiments,” Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan, April. 01, 2013.
Y.C. Liu,”Spherically symmetrical droplet burning: From ground-based surrogate tests to International Space Experiments,” Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Mar. 29, 2013.
Selected Conference Presentations:
Y.C. Liu, Y. Xu, M.C. Hicks, C.T. Avedisian, “The effect of support fibers on micro-convection in droplet combustion experiments,” International Symposium on Combustion, San Francisco, CA, Aug. 02-08, 2014.
Y.C. Liu, C.T. Avedisian, K.N. Trenou, J.K. Rah, “Experimental Study of Initial Diameter Effects on Convection-free Droplet Combustion in the Standard Atmosphere for h-Heptane, n-Octant, and n-Decane: International Space Station and Ground-based Experiments,” AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition 2014, National Harbor, Maryland, USA, Jan. 13-17, 2014
Y.C. Liu, Y. Xu, J.K. Rah, K.N. Trenou, C.T. Avedisian, “Droplet combustion dynamics (experiments) of butanol isomers in a reduced gravity environment, 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gravitational and Space Research, Orlando, Florida, USA, Nov. 03-08, 2013.
Y.C. Liu, K.N. Trenou, J. Rah, M.C. Hicks, C.T. Avedisian, “Effect of varying the initial diameter of n-octane and n-decane droplets over a wide range on the spherically symmetric combustion process: International space station and ground-based experiments,” 8th U.S. National Combustion Meeting, Park City, Utah, USA, May 19-22, 2013.
Research Interests:
Liquid combustion and diagnostics, phase change phenomena, renewable energy, image processing and analyzing.
Awards:
Lockheed Martin Student Award for Oral Presentation, 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gravitational and Space Research, New Orleans, Louisiana, Nov. 28 – Dec. 02, 2012.
2nd place in the Enabling Technologies Poster Competition, 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gravitational and Space Research, New Orleans, Louisiana, Nov. 28 – Dec. 02, 2012.
McManus Design Award
the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, 2010
Fellowship Award
Graduate Division of Chemical Engineering Department, National Taiwan University, 2006
Degree(s)/Education:
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University (2013)
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University (2010)
M.S., Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University (2007)
B.S., Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University (2005)
Memberships:
Combustion Institute
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
American Society for Gravitational and Space Research
How I fell in love with my field:
Being always interested in energy-related research, I had this opportunity to switch my research field to droplet combustion and do microgravity experiments on earth and aboard the International Space Station. The ideal microgravity droplet flame with a spherical symmetry is a classical problem in textbook, but using this platform to compare surrogate fuels and biofuels with conventional transportation fuels brings new spirits to it. Despite the idealness of the flame, to achieve such a experimental condition is a very challenging task and it requires lots of hands-on engineering design. This is where I found my field interesting and fell in love with it.
What I hope for my time at UM-Flint:
For my time at UM-Flint, I hope that I can bring students new research projects and learning experiences that are more helpful when they go to local and global industries. I believe this would benefit both the community and student’s career development.
Three things you should know about me:
• I play guitar and several percussion instruments.
• Though I enjoy listening to classical music, I also listen to a variety of pop music.
• I enjoy working with students and seeing they learn, grow, and become professional in what they are interested in. That’s why I am here at UM-Flint.
