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 studying heat transfer in MHD flows under intense magnetic fields with application to emerging fusion technologies.
Magnetohydrodynamics

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is the interaction between electrically conducting fluid flows and magnetic fields.
Natural convection

We are uncovering the scalings controlling horizontal convection and their 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.
Natural convection

Natural convection is the motion of fluids invoked by density gradients arising from differences in temperature, salinity, etc.
The Sheard Lab

We make use of Australia's largest supercomputers to execute our computational fluid dynamics simulations and analysis.
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

Subcritical transition to turbulence in quasi-two-dimensional shear flows J. Fluid Mech., 19 May 2023
Read about our discovery of a subcritical route to turbulence in quasi-2D shear flows, in our latest article published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.
Top Cited Article 2021-2022 Wiley, 22 Feb 2023
Our recent publications on the departure from the traditional Boussinesq approximation in buoyancy-driven flows have been recognised as Top Cited Articles in the International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids.
Sneha Murali wins the 12AHMTC Best Student Presentation Award The 12th Australasian Heat & Mass Transfer Conference, 1 Jul 2022
Sneha Murali has been awarded the Best Student Presentation Award from the The 12th Australasian Heat & Mass Transfer Conference, for her presentation on heat transfer enhancement in MHD duct flows.
PhD completion for Sneha Murali! The Sheard Lab, 24 Jun 2022
Congratulations to our latest PhD graduate, Dr Sneha Murali. Sneha's thesis investigates the use of wall protuberances exciting instability and heat transfer in duct flows, vital in liquid-metal flows smoothed by magnetic fields.

Recent publications

Three-dimensional stability of natural convection flows in inclined square enclosures.

Journal of Fluid Mechanics 1003, A8, 2025.
Pulsatility delays the transition to sustained turbulence in quasi-two-dimensional shear flows.

Physical Review Fluids 10, 023905, 2025.
Techno-economic and environmental evaluation of integrated microgrid systems for electrification and hydrogen production.

Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2968, 012006, 2025.
Techno-economic analysis and optimization of hydrogen production from renewable hybrid energy systems: Shagaya renewable power plant-Kuwait.

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 58, 56-68, 2024.
Weakly nonlinear bifurcation behaviour at the onset of instability in horizontal convection using an advective buoyancy approximation.

International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 149, 107134, 2023.
Subcritical transition to turbulence in quasi-two-dimensional shear flows.

Journal of Fluid Mechanics 963, R3, 2023.

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?).