Focus:
Cardiovascular fluid dynamics, material fabrication (3D Printing)
Website:
Rita Group
Education:
● Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, North Dakota State University (2021)
● M.S. Architecture and Civil Engineering (HVAC), Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture (2016)
● B.S. Heating, Gas Supply, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Engineering (HVAC), Liaoning Technical University (2012)
Academic & Professional Experience:
● Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth
(August 2023 - )
● Assistant Teaching Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department,
University of Minnesota Duluth (Jan 2022 - May 2023)
Research Interests:
Blood flow in the human cardiovascular system is highly complicated. Abnormal hemodynamics is related to many severe diseases and has intrigued a growth of fluid dynamic research over decades. However, due to the complexity of transient flow and fluid-structure interaction, many aspects of aortic hemodynamics have not been extensively understood. Quantitative experimental measurements of cardiovascular hemodynamics will help to improve our current understanding regarding pathology of certain heart diseases, assist with improved medical device design, and provide validation benchmarks for patient-specific computer simulations.
Courses Taught:
● ME 2211 - Thermodynamics
● ME 3111 - Fluid Mechanics
● ME 4122 - Heat Transfer, Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics Laboratory
Selected Journal Publications:
Full publication list also available on Google Scholar
Zhang, Y., Eichholz, B., & Zhang, R. (2022). Evolution of Vortex Structures in An Open Deep Cavity
under Pulsatile Flow Conditions: An Experimental Study. Physics of Fluids, 34: 091902.
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0111653.
Zhang, Y., Zhang, R., Thomas, N., Ullah, Al., Eichholz, B., Estevadeordal, J., & Suzen, Y. (2022).
Experimental and Computational Study of Pulsatile Flow Characteristics in Romanesque and Gothic
Aortic Arch Models. Medical Engineering & Physics, 102: 103784.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2022.103784.
Zhang, R., & Zhang, Y. (2020). Experimental analysis of pulsatile flow characteristics in prosthetic aortic valve models with stenosis. Medical Engineering & Physics, 79: 10-18.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2020.03.004.
Zhang, R., & Zhang, Y. (2020). Effects of heart rate on the pulsatile flow characteristics of a stenotic
aortic valve model: an in vitro experimental study. ASME. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 142(10):
101205. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4047410.