Yu (Claire) Yan

Associate Professor of Teaching

Mechanical, School of Engineering

Research Summary

Computational fluid dynamics; Renewable energy technologies; Fluid mechanics

Courses & Teaching

ENGR 490 Fluid Machinery; ENGR 381 Kinematics and Dynamics of Machinery; ENGR 310 Fluid Mechanics II; APSC 253 Fluid Mechanics I; APSC 260 Mechanics of Materials I; APSC 173 Engineering Analysis II

Biography

Dr. Yan received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Xi’an Jiaotong University in China and Ph.D. degree from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK. She was a research scientist at Ryerson University in Toronto prior to joining the University of British Columbia Okanagan in July 2008.

Dr. Yan is an active researcher and educator in the field of thermofluids and energy. She has successfully conducted projects funded by the Canadian Space Agency, NSERC, EPSRC (UK) and various industry partners. Her projects include CFD analysis for diffusion/thermodiffusion (also called Soret effect or thermophoresis) under reduced gravity conditions; vapour-liquid equilibrium in multicomponent fluid mixtures; heat transfer and two-phase flow of HFC mixtures in refrigeration systems; and optimization for turbomachines. Dr. Yan has received many awards along her academic career including the prestigious Ted Perry Memorial Award by the Institute of Refrigeration in the UK.

Degrees

PhD - Mechanical Engineering (University of Strathclyde, UK)
MSc - Mechanical Engineering (Xi’an Jiaotong University, China)
BSc - Mechanical Engineering (Xi’an Jiaotong University, China)

Research Interests & Projects

• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Renewable Energy Technologies
• Heat and Mass Transfer
• HVAC and Refrigeration

Selected Publications & Presentations

Referred conference proceedings (teaching)

• Yan, C.Y., Prodanovic, V., Taheri-Ardebili, R., “Students’ Perception of Project Based Learning Activities at the School of Engineering, UBC, Okanagan Campus”, Proceedings of the 121st ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) Annual Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana, 06/2014
•  Yan, C.Y., Labun, C., “Improving Student Engagement – An Approach Used in Kinematics and Dynamics of Machinery”, Proceedings of 119th ASEE Annual Conference, San Antonio, 06/2012

Referred Journals (research)

• Y. Yan, M.Z.Saghir, “The Soret coefficients in binary aqueous alkanol solutions: comparison between a theoretical model and the experimental data”, International Review of Chemical Engineering, vol. 1, no. 2, 212-217, 2009
• T.Jaber, Y.Yan, S.Pan, M.Z.Saghi, “Theoretical prediction of thermal diffusion coefficients for ternary hydrocarbon mixtures based on the irreversible thermodynamics theory”, Acta Astronautica, vol. 65, no. 7-8, 1158-1161, 2009
•  Y. Yan, P. Blanco, M. Z. Saghir, M. M. Bou-Ali, “An improved theoretical model for thermal diffusion coefficient in liquid hydrocarbon mixtures: comparison between experimental and numerical results”. Journal of Chemical Physics, vol. 129, 194507, 2008
• Y. Yan, A. Vivianib, M. Z. Saghir, “Double diffusion convection under sinusoidal modulations of low-frequency vibrations”. Acta Astronautica vol. 63, 665 – 672, 2008
• T. Jaber, Y. Yan, M. Z. Saghir, “Soret effect for a ternary mixture in porous cavity: modeling with variable diffusion coefficients and viscosity”. ASME: Journal of Fluids Engineering, vol. 130, 081703-1, 2008
• S. Pan, M. Z. Saghir, M. Kawaji, C. Jiang, Y. Yan, Theoretical approach to evaluate thermodiffusion in aqueous alkanol solutions. Journal of Chemical Physics, vol. 126, 014502, 2007
• Y. Yan, S. Pan, K. Jules, M. Z. Saghir, “Vibrational effect on thermal diffusion under different microgravity environments”, Microgravity Science and Technology, XIX-2, 2007
• Y. Yan, K. Jules, M. Z. Saghir, “A comparative study of g-jitter effect on thermal diffusion aboard the international space station”, Fluid Dynamics and Material Processing, vol. 3, no. 3, 231-245, 2007
• S. Pan, Y. Yan, T. Jaber, M. Kawaji, M. Z. Saghir, “Evaluation of thermal diffusion models for ternary hydrocarbon mixtures”, Journal of Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics, vol.32, no. 3, 241-249, 2007
• V. Shevtsova, D. Melnikov, J.C. Legros, Y. Yan, Z. Saghir, T. Lyubimova, G. Sedelnikov, B. Roux, “Influence of vibrations on thermodiffusion in binary mixture: a benchmark of numerical solutions”, Physics of Fluids, vol. 19, 017111, 2007
• S. Pan, C. Jiang, Y. Yan, M. Kawaji, M. Z. Saghir, “Theoretical prediction of thermal diffusion in water-methanol, water-ethanol and water-isopropanol mixtures using PC-SAFT equation of state”, Journal of Non-equilibrium Thermodynamics, vol. 31, no. 1, 47-71, 2006
• Y. Yan, V. Shevtsova, M. Z. Saghir, “Numerical study of low frequency g-jitter effect on thermal diffusion”, Fluid Dynamics and Material Processing, vol. 1, no. 4, 315-328, 2005
• J.S. Fleming, Y. Yan, “The prediction of vapour – liquid equilibrium behavior of HFC blend – oil mixtures from commonly available data”, International Journal of Refrigeration, vol. 26, no. 3, 266-274, 2003

Referred conference proceedings (research)

• M. Nourani, A. S. Milani, S. Yannacopoulos, C.Y.Yan, “Predicting grain size distribution in friction stir welded 6061 aluminum alloy”, 9th International Friction Stir Welding Symposium, 15-17 May 2012, Huntsville, USA
• Y. Yan, P. Blanco, M.Z. Saghir, M. Bou-Ali, “Theoretical modelling and experimental measurement of thermodiffusion coefficients in binary n-alkane mixtures”, 8th International Meeting on Thermodiffusion, Bonn, Germany, June 9-13, 2008
• P. Blanco, Y. Yan, M. Bou-Ali , M.Z. Saghir, “Thermodiffusion coefficient of binary liquid mixtures of n-alkane nC5-nC10: comparison between experimental and numerical results”, Proceedings of CHT-08, ICHMT International Symposium on Advances in Computational Heat Transfer, Marrakech, Morocco, May 11-16, 2008
• S. Pan, Y. Yan, T. Jaber, M.Z. Saghir, “Prediction of the thermal diffusion coefficients for hydrocarbon and aqueous alkanol mixtures in preparation for Foton M3 mission”, 58th International Astronautical Congress, India, 2006
• S. Pan, Y. Yan, C.G. Jiang, M. Kawaji, M.Z. Saghir, “The theoretical prediction of thermal diffusion coefficients for ternary hydrocarbon mixtures”, 7th International Meeting on Thermodiffusion, Donostia-SanSebastián, Spain, May 29 – June 3, 2006
• Y. Yan, M. Z. Saghir, “Numerical modeling of double diffusion convection of a water-alcohol mixture in a cubical cell”, Proceedings of the 2^nd International Symposium on Thermal Science and Engineering, Beijing, China, October 23-25, 2005
• Y. Yan and J. S. Fleming, “The development of calculation techniques for HFC blend – oil behaviour,” the 9th International Refrigeration Conference at Purdue, Purdue University, Indiana, USA, 2002
• J. S. Fleming, Y. Yan, M. Gutierrez-vega, and T. Yanagisawa, “The economics of compressor modelling,” International conference on compressors and their systems, IMechE, London, UK, 2001
• Y. Yan, J. S. Fleming, A. C. Bwalya, “The HFCs and beyond: the evaluation of existing and new refrigerants in realistic conditions” the 8th International Refrigeration Conference at Purdue, Purdue University, Indiana, USA, 2000

Book chapters

• S. Pan, Y. Yan, C. Jiang, M. Kawaji, and M. Z. Saghir, “Thermodiffusion: Basics and Application” p.261-270. Editors: M. M. Bou-Ali and J. K. Platten, Mondragon Unibertsitatea, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain, 2006
• Z. Saghir, G.B. Jiang, M. Chacha, Y. Yan, S. Pan, M. Khawaja, “Thermodiffusion in porous medium”, Transport Phenomena in Porous Media III, Editors: D.B. Ingham and I. Pop, ELSEVIER, Oxford, 2005

Professional Services/Affiliations/Committees

• Registered Professional Engineer, Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC (APEGBC)
• Member of ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education)
• Member of CEEA (Canadian Engineering Education Association)

Media