Zhiwei Sun

Dr Zhiwei Sun

Senior Lecturer

School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.


Dr. Zhiwei Sun works on advanced experiments in combustion and multiphase flows like particle-laden flows, fluidised beds and bubble flows. Unique home-developed optical/laser-based techniques are used to quantify the key parameters in lamianr or turbulent flows with high spatial and temporal resolution. Dr Sun focuses on the development of unique new experimental methods.

  • Advanced laser/optical diagnostic techniques development
  • Experiments in thermo-fluids, of laminar or turbulent
  • Experiments in multi-phase flows, e.g., particles, bubbles, ..
  • AI + Laser diagnostics + CFD
  • Renewable thermal energy, hydrogen, solar thermal energy, biomass
  • High temperature processing and heavy industry decarbonisation
  • 2025, HILT Coursework Development grant: Hydrogen Combustion, Explosion and Safety management, $4,600 + 0.2 FTE of 9 months (Sun)
  • 2024 - 2026, Physical and chemical properties of Australia ores associated with new processing technologies, HILT CRC, $450,000 (Sun, Saw, Nathan and Ashman)
  • 2024 - 2027, De-risking large-scale Australian fine-ore hydrogen ironmaking, ARENA (ANU leads, UoA participants: Saw, Nathan, Sun and Zhao)
  • 2024 - 2027, SiPHyR: A new technology for affordable net-zero hydrogen production, CRC-P 15, $2,500,000 (UoA: Sun and Nathan)
  • 2024 - 2029, The Global Hydrogen Production Technologies (HyPT) Centre, NSF and CSIRO; UoA ~$2,225,000 (Metha, Nathan and Sun)
  • 2023, Global partnership engagement seed funding to Sweden for green ironmaking, The University of Adelaide, $6,800 (Sun)
  • 2023, A 12 kHz high-speed camera, The University of Adelaide, $93,000 (Sun and Medwell)
  • 2022, A compact 30 kHz Nd:YAG laser, The University of Adelaide, $10,000 (Sun)
  • 2022 - 2023, Develop a heat-exchanger via optical diagnostics and CFD modellings, $450,000 (Sun, Nathan and Chin)
  • 2022, Digi+ FAME Strategy: Step-change numerical models using big data from laser diagnostics, $100,000 (Sun co-CI)
  • 2021, Innovation Connections Grant, Stage-II, Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, $160,000 (Nathan and Sun)
  • 2020, Innovation Connections Grant, Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, $100,000 (Nathan, Sun, Jafarian and Alwahabi)
  • 2020, Particle Technologies, Australian Solar Thermal Institute (ASTRI), $363,000 (Sun co-CI)

Combustion technology & High-temperature processing

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2024 Co-Supervisor Investigation of particle size and flow parameters in turbulent particle-laden flows Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Mit Piyush Bakhai
    2024 Principal Supervisor Long-term thermal energy storage system using packed beds Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Shohreh Nasri
    2019 Co-Supervisor Heat and Mass Transport in Particle-Laden Flows Under Conditions of Solar Receiver Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Xiaopeng Bi
  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2019 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Optical diagnostics of soot formation in low pressure laminar premixed flames Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Safa Mohammed M Algoraini
    2019 - 2023 Co-Supervisor Experimental and Numerical Study of Free-falling Particle-laden Flows Relevant to Solar Particle Receivers Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Shipu Han
  • Committee Memberships

    Date Role Committee Institution Country
    2017 - ongoing Member International Workshop on the measurement and computation of reacting flows with carbon nanoparticles ISF workshop Australia
  • Memberships

    Date Role Membership Country
    2024 - ongoing Member Global Hydrogen Production Technologies (HyPT) Center United States
  • Position: Senior Lecturer
  • Phone: 83132310
  • Email: zhiwei.sun@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Engineering South, floor Third Floor
  • Room: S324
  • Org Unit: Mechanical Engineering

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