Dr. Ben Xu

Assistant Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Office Location N206 Engineering Building 1

Fax 713-743-4503

Email bxu12 [at] central.uh.edu

Website Multiphase Transport Laboratory

Education

Ph.D. - Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona, 2015

M.S. – Fluid Mechanics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2010

B.S. – Thermo-fluids Engineering, Wuhan University, 2007

Professional Experience

01/2023 - present: Assistant Professor, Presidential Frontier Faculty Fellow, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston

08/2020 - 12/2022: Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mississippi State University

09/2016 - 08/2020: Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

09/2015 - 08/2016: Postdoc Research Associate, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, Drexel University

Courses Taught

Spring 2023: MECE 4364 - Heat Transfer

Fall 2023: MECE 6336 - Engineering Heat Transfer

Spring 2024: MECE 4364 - Heat Transfer

Fall 2024: MECE 6397 – Thermal Energy Storage

Research Interests

Solar Thermal Storage, Multiphase Flow and Heat Transfer, Advanced Manufacturing, Laser-Assisted Bioprinting

Current Research Projects

DoD OLDCC: The America’s Additive Foundry Consortium, Co-PI, UH PI and Houston Demonstration Hub Director (Total funding: $7,526,385, September 2023 - August 2028)

NSF CBET TTP: Collaborative Research: Multiscale study of oscillating flow and multiphase heat transfer in porous media, PI (Award number: 2318107, Total funding: $171,734, September 2022 - August 2025)

DOE EERE SETO: Light Trapping, Enclosed Planar-Cavity Receiver for Heating Particles to Enable Low-Cost Energy Storage and Chemical Processes (LTPCR), Co-PI, UH PI (Award number: DE-EE0009380, Total funding: $3,750,000, January 2022 - December 2024)

DOE ARPA-E: Fast Electrowinning via Rotors for Responsible Iron Creation (FERRIC), Co-PI, UH PI (Award number: DE-AR0001906, Total funding: $2,102,353, August 2024 – July 2027)

DOE EERE SETO: Reactive Particle Based Thermochemical Energy Storage System for Concentrating Solar-thermal Power (TCES-CSP), Co-PI, UH PI (Award number: DE-EE0010317, Total funding: $3,475,527, July 2024 – June 2027)

UH AMI: Machine-learning assisted optimization of nickel-based superalloy surface characteristics for enhanced solar absorption through additive manufacturing, PI (Total funding: $35,000, February 2024- January 2025)

Awards & Honors

DOD MEEP Faculty Fellow (Summer 2020)

ASME 2019 13th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, Third Place of Best Paper

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Travel Award (2017, 2018 and 2019)

ASME 2017 Power & Energy Conference, Second Place of Best Poster

Selected Publications

Haddad, F., Pidaparthi, B., Afrin, N. N., Missoum, S., Li, J., Xu, B., & Li, P. (2025). Flow and Heat Transfer Experimental Study for 3D-Printed Solar Receiving Tubes with Helical Fins at Internal Surface. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 147(1).
Zhang, D., Guo, P., Xu, B., & Li, J. (2023). A deep-water in-situ power generation system based on chain-driven hydrokinetic turbine. Journal of Cleaner Production, 385, 135774.
Zhou, S., Li, J., Dou, C., Dai, Q., Xu, B.* (2023). Experimental investigation of different materials as energy absorbing layer and the viscosity of sodium alginate in Laser-Induced-Forward-Transfer (LIFT) bioprinting. Journal of Applied Physics, 133(20).
Arman, M. S., Xu, B., Tsin, A., & Li, J. (2023). Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) based bioprinting of the collagen I with retina photoreceptor cells. Manufacturing Letters, 35, 477-484.
Pidaparthi, B., Missoum, S., Xu, B., & Li, P. (2023). Helical fins for concentrated solar receivers: design optimization and entropy analysis. Journal of Energy Resources Technology, 145, 121706-1.
Xu, B.* (2023). Understanding the multiphase process in laser-induced-forward-transfer (LIFT) bioprinting from thermofluids perspective. In Thermopedia. Begel House Inc. (Invited)
Guo, P., Zhang, B., Li, T., Xu, B., & Li, J. (2023). An experimental and numerical study on the brine droplet evaporation considering salt precipitation. Applied Thermal Engineering, 234, 121312.
Farias, M., Hu, H., Zhang, S., Li, J., & Xu, B.* (2023). A molecular dynamics study of atomic diffusion effects on thermomechanical properties applying laser additive alloying process for the Cantor high entropy alloy. Journal of Manufacturing Processes, 91, 149-166.
Zhang, Y., Wang, X., Hu, Q., Li, P., Liu, Q., Xu, B. (2022). Experimental study of eutectic molten salts NaCl/KCl/ZnCl2 heat transfer inside a smooth tube for high temperature application. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 144(4), 044501.
Qu, J., Dou, C., Xu, B.*, Li, J., Rao, Z., & Tsin, A. (2021). Printing quality improvement for laser-induced forward transfer bioprinting: Numerical modeling and experimental validation. Physics of Fluids, 33(7), 071906. (Featured Article)
Rahman, T. T., Arman, M. S., Perez, V., Xu, B.*, & Li, J. (2021). Analysis of the operating conditions of pulse electric field–assisted EHD for sodium alginate printing using design of experiment approach. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 115(7), 2037-2047.
Dou, C., Perez, V., Qu, J., Tsin, A., Xu, B.*, & Li, J. (2021). A State-of-the-Art Review of Laser-Assisted Bioprinting and its Future Research Trends. ChemBioEng Reviews, 8(5), 517-534.
Ye, W., Zhang, S., Mendez, L. L., Farias, M., Li, J., Xu, B.*, & Zhang, Y. (2021). Numerical simulation of the melting and alloying processes of elemental titanium and boron powders using selective laser alloying. Journal of Manufacturing Processes, 64, 1235-1247.
Guo, P., Zhou, Y., Zhang, D., Xu, B., & Li, J. (2021). Numerical investigation and multi‐objective thermo-economic optimization of a solar chimney power plant. International Journal of Energy Research, 45(7), 10317-10331.
Zhao, W., Gao, Y., Li, R., Qiu, S., Zhang, Y., & Xu, B.* (2020). Hybrid phase-change Lattice Boltzmann simulation of vapor condensation on vertical subcooled walls. Journal of Heat Transfer, 142(4).
Liu, C., Zong, J., Zhang, J., He, D., Guo, C., Xu, B., & Rao, Z. (2020). Knitting aryl network polymers (KAPs)-embedded copper foam enables highly efficient thermal energy storage. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 8(30), 15177-15186.
Qu, J., Escobar, L., Li, J., Rao, Z., Xu, B.* (2020) Experimental Study of Evaporation and Crystallization of Brine Droplets under Different Temperatures and Humidity Levels. International Communication of Heat and Mass Transfer, 110, 104427.
Yang, Y., Jenet, F., Xu, B., Garza, J., Tamayo, B., Chavez, Y., Reyes, O., & Fuentes, S. (2020) Experimental study of a lift-type WEC rotor in freewheeling mode. Journal of Energy Resources Technology. 142(3): 031201
Bekkulov, A., Luthen, A., & Xu, B.* (2020). Experimental Study of Condensation in a Thermoacoustic Cooler with Various 3D-Printed Regenerators Using Water Vapor as the Working Fluid. Journal of Energy Resources Technology, 142(5).
Xu, X., Xu, B., & Li, P. (2020). An O(n) framework for internal coordinate molecular dynamics applicable to molecules with arbitrary constraints and geometries. Molecular Simulation, 1-13.

Books / Book Chapters

Xu, B., Li, P.W., Guo, P.H. (2017). Solar thermal-driven desalination pursuing products of pure water and salts and leaving minimum impact to environment. In Desalination, Intech. https://www.intechopen.com/books/desalination/solar-thermal-driven-desalination-pursuing-products-of-pure-water-and-salts-and-leaving-minimum-impa
Xu, X.H., Xu, B.*, Liu, T.L., Chirino, H. (2017). Life cycle GHG emissions of concentrating solar power plants and geothermal plants. In GHG Emission: Drivers, Sources and Impacts, Nova. https://novapublishers.com/shop/ghg-emissions-drivers-sources-and-impacts/