Yuanshen Lu

Dr. Yuanshen Lu began his current role at the University of Queensland (UQ) as a DECRA Fellow and Lecturer in September 2019. Previously, he was a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Griffith University, following several years of postdoctoral research experience at UQ. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2015. Dr. Lu’s primary research interests lie in energy conversion and thermo-fluids within conventional and renewable energy systems, as well as hydrogen utilization. His current work focuses on heat engines (e.g., supercritical CO₂ power cycles), turbomachinery (e.g., wind turbines), and heat management in energy systems, including applications in heat exchangers, cooling towers, ground-source heat pumps, and thermal management in hydrogen-based steelmaking processes. Dr. Lu is actively engaged with industry and has contributed to sectors such as thermal power generation, coal seam gas, HVAC, renewable energy, and steel industry. Leveraging his expertise in advanced experimentation and modeling, he is dedicated to driving innovations in energy harvesting, power consumption, and energy savings across a range of renewable applications. Dr. Lu currently serves as UQ’s Program Leader in the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute (ASTRI) program, leading the Power Conversion team in developing supercritical CO₂ power cycles. He is also the Deputy Director of the Centre for Multiscale Energy Systems (CMES) at UQ. Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer: My main interests are energy conversion and management at both system and single component/mechanism levels. Typical topics I work on include supercritical CO2 Brayton or organic Rankine thermodynamic cycles, heat exchangers, cooling towers, and waste heat managements of internal combustion engines/other industry processes. Renewable energy systems and green hydrogen usage: I am interested in thermo-fluids problems in renewable energies, working on projects including momentum turbomachinery such as wind/tidal turbines, direct usage of solar thermal such as solar stills, and ground source heat pumps as well as renewable-based HVAC. In the hydrogen sector, my primary research involves advanced modeling of H2-based steel-making processes and hydrogen transport & storage networks. Fluid mechanics: My interests are in fundamental fluid mechanics problems, including natural convection, plume theory, vortex, and porous media. Experimental thermo-fluids: I have extensive experience in in-lab or on-site experiments as well as flow visualization for energy components and systems. I specialize in designing and setting up novel experimental techniques and facilities tailored to specific demands.

[2026] Thermodynamic analysis of an ideal Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) cycle integrated with a solar booster. Samant, Aayush, Klimenko, Alexander Y., Lu, Yuanshen and Kumar, Mayank (2026). AppliedMath, 6 (7) 107, 107-107. doi: 10.3390/appliedmath6070107 [2026] Electricity price formation and the energy transition. Green, Dylan S., Kratzer, Matthew M., Chapman, Archie, Lu, Yuanshen and Klimenko, Alexander Y. (2026). 2025 IEEE International Conference on Energy Technologies for Future Grids (ETFG), Wollongong, VIC Australia, 7-11 December 2025. Piscataway, NJ United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/ETFG61999.2025.11401149 [2026] From agent-based Markov dynamics to hierarchical closures on networks: emergent complexity and epidemic applications.