SheardLab.org

Rotating flows

We investigate the stability of shearing rotating flows to understand the polygonal deformations in atmospheric flows such as polar vortices and hurricane eyewalls.
Rotating flows

Rotating flows are found from bathtub drain whirlpools to mixing vessels in process industries to the rotating air masses in the polar atmosphere.
Magnetohydrodynamics

We are exploring novel combinations of physical and electrical turbulence generators to enhance heat transfer in MHD duct flows.
Magnetohydrodynamics

We are focused on heat transfer in electrically conducting fluid flows in high magnetic field environments.
Natural convection

We are focused on the scaling between convective heat transfer and thermal forcing, and its relationship to instability and turbulent transition in these flows.
Natural convection

Horizontal convection is the overturning circulation produced by non-uniform heating across a horizontal boundary.
The Sheard Lab

We specialise in the use of the high-order spectral element method for the direct numerical simulation of these flows.
The Sheard Lab

These include rotating flows, magnetohydrodynamics, convection and heat transfer.
The Sheard Lab

We investigate the fluid dynamics, heat transfer and stability of flows with geophysical and industrial applications.
The Sheard Lab

We are a research team located in the Engineering precinct of Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

News & highlights

These 40 young researchers are rising stars, leaders of the future The Australian, Research Magazine 2021, 12 Nov 2021
Our PhD candidate, Peyman Mayeli, features in this report identifying 40 of Australia's most promising Early Career Researchers.
We have moved! The Sheard Lab, 18 Jun 2020
The Sheard Lab, 1 Feb 2020
This research explains how horizontal heat transport depends on the distribution of buoyancy across the horizontal boundary driving the horizontal convection flow.
Monash academics awarded prestigious 2020 Fulbright scholarships Monash University, 22 Jan 2020
Our PhD candidate Jamie Denier secured one of only 13 Fulbright scholarships across Monash students, postdoctoral fellows and staff.

Recent publications

Linear stability analysis of horizontal convection under a Gay-Lussac type approximation.

International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 182, 121929, 2022.
A centrifugal buoyancy formulation for Boussinesq-type natural convection flows applied to the annulus cavity problem.

International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids 93 (3), 683-702, 2021.
A simplified and efficient Gay-Lussac approach for non-Boussinesq treatment of natural convection problems.

Numerical Heat Transfer, Part B: Fundamentals 80 (5-6), 115-135, 2021.
An efficient and simplified Gay-Lussac approach in secondary variables form for the non-Boussinesq simulation of free convection problems.

International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids 93 (11), 3264-3279, 2021.
Transition to turbulence in quasi-two-dimensional MHD flow driven by lateral walls.

Physical Review Fluids 6 (1), 013901, 2021.
Energy saving and performance analysis of air-cooled photovoltaic panels.

International Journal of Energy Research (Published online), 2021.

Joining our team

We are expanding our team and welcome outstanding graduates with an interest in fluid mechanics, magnetohydrodynamics or convection and heat transfer to study towards a PhD. Applications must be made through Monash Graduate Research (how to apply?).