Research Fellow, The University of Western Australia
Dr. Xiong Xiao is a research fellow of the Fluid Science and Resources (FSR) Group at the University of Western Australia (UWA) with experience in the field of thermodynamic and transport properties. He joined UWA in 2017 as a PhD student with his research focus on heat capacity measurements of hydrocarbon mixtures and refrigerants via differential scanning calorimetry, and the model improvement for thermophysical properties. The achieved experimental results and the improved models contribute to the industry for a better understanding in thermodynamic behaviour of hydrocarbon mixtures and refrigerants. Additionally, a new EOS for solid benzene has been developed, capable of describing all relevant thermodynamic properties, enabling reliable predictions of solid benzene freeze-out in liquefied natural gas. This significantly contributes to prevent solid blockages in pressure vessels and avoid unexpected shutdowns, much like how preventing cholesterol deposits in blood vessels helps avert strokes. Xiong completed his PhD degree in July 2021 and worked as a researcher since January 2021. He has received several major awards including the UWA Research Collaboration Award, International Association of Chemical Thermodynamics (IACT) Junior Award, Best Presenter at Present Around the World, and IChemE-Engineers Australia Postgraduate Excellence Award. His current research activities include measurement and modelling in thermophysical properties (density, heat capacity, viscosity, cell volume, enthalpy of sublimation/fusion, phase equilibrium, and speed of sound) of nitrate solutions, hydrogen enriched natural gas, ammonia mixtures, liquefied natural gas, new generation refrigerants, and Swan river/ocean water systems.
Dr. Xiao has been successful in securing funding from several prestigious sources, including the Australia-Japan Foundation, UWA Riverlab/Woodside FutureLab, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, and the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering. He maintains on-going collaboration with other top fluid science groups in the world including Imperial College London, Ruhr-University Bochum, Chemnitz University of Technology, Murdoch University, Monash University, Deakin University, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, USA), Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), and Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (TIPC-CAS).