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Ph.D., P.E., F. EWRI
Associate Professor
Department of Civil and
Environment Engineering
Institute of Computational and Data Sciences223B Sackett Penn State University
University Park, PA 16802
Phone: (814) 863-2940 (o)
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News
- 3/25/2024: Xiaofeng becomes an ASCE EWRI fellow.
- 3/25/2024: Our group
publishes the NCHRP Research Report 1077: Selection and Application of
Manning’s Roughness Values in Two-Dimensional Hydraulic Models (report, data)
- 3/1/2024: Two papers on the topic of machine learning, computational
hydraulics, and bathymetry inversion have been published (surrogate model, bathymetry inversion).
- 3/8/2022: Two
manuscripts on the topic of machine learning and computational
hydraulics are under review. The deep learning python package, dl4HM, is on GitHub.
- 4/11/2021: Published pyHMT2D on GitHub: Python-based Hydraulic Modeling Tools - 2D. It currently supports SRH-2D and HEC-RAS. A paper is submitted to the Journal of Open Source Software (JOSS).
- 9/1/2020: A new JHE paper on sand-slide scheme in scour modeling (link).
The new scheme is based on the diffusive nature of sand slide process
and takes into acount the role of angle of repose. Source code and
cases on GitHub; animations on YouTube.
- 11/13/2019:
A graduate research assistant position is open to work on nature-based
solutions for river restoration. Both expeimental and computational
work will be conducted. Interested graduate applicants should contact
Dr. Liu.
- 6/1/2019: Our subglacial conduit flow resistance work is on the AGU Eos Research Spotlight (link).
- 5/25/2019: Co-editor of a
new ASCE book: "Computational Fluid Dynamics: Applications in Water,
Wastewater, and Stormwater Treatment". Thanks to all ASCE EWRI CFD Task
Committee members for their hard work.
- 5/3/2019: Tenured and promoted to the rank of Associate Professor (effective July 1, 2019). Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way!
- 4/15/2019: Another couple
of papers published/accepted: Mountain stream flow resistance with SfM
and CFD (ESPL), debris flow impact on infrastructure (JHE), and wave
dynamics due to canopies (AWR).
Quick overview of our research
- Numerical models and tools:
- OpenFOAM: Our major research package with multiple applications
- pyHMT2D: Python package for 2D Hydraulic Modeling Tools
- dl4HM: Deep-learning for Hydraulics Modeling, a python package for building data-driven machine learning models.
- HydroSed2D: Our open source 2D depth-averaged hydrodynamic model with sedimen transport.
- EFDC: Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code, we used it for the Chicago River, IL, and Clinton Lake, IL.
- Experimental work:
- Scour around porous hydraulic structures
- Rock weir hydraulics
- Sediment movement through synthetic
turf
Education
- PH.D. (2008) Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
- M.S. (2007) Applied Mathematics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
- M.S. (2003) Environmental Science, Peking University, Beijing, China
- B.E. (2000) Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Professional experiences
- 2019 – Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Penn State University
- 2014 – 2019 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Penn State University
- 2010 – 2013 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio
- 2009 – 2010 Visiting Research Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- 2008 – 2009 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Awards and Honors
- Harry West Teaching Award, Penn State CEE, 2020
- State of the Art of Civil Engineering Award, ASCE, 2020
- Third Place, Phase I of U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Divide and Conquer Challenge for River Modeling, 2022
- Second Place, Phase II of U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Divide and Conquer Challenge for River Modeling, 2023
External research grants/awards/coorperative agreements
- Coupled Flow-Munition-Sediment Dynamics for Better
Constraining UnMES: A Collaborative Investigation with Experiments and
Modeling, Lead-PI (with UT Austin and Naval Research Lab), SERDP,
2024-2028
- Harnessing Physics-Informed Machine Learning to Improve Image-Based Streamflow Measurements, PI, USGS, 2023-2026
- PFI-RP: Novel coated geotextile to enhance water drainage from soil, PI at Penn State (Lead PI: Dr. Jie Han at University of Kansas), NSF, 2023-2026
- Mentoring Institute for Sediment Transport (MIST) for Early Career Professionals at the EWRI World Environmental and Water Resources Congress and the AGU Fall Meeting, PI at Penn State (Lead PI: Dr. Jennifer Duan at University of Arizona), NSF, 2023-2024
- In-situ stiffening and upgrading of ballasted rail track beds via
cement grout injection, co-PI (PI: Dr. Farshad Rajabipour), Center for
Integrated Asset Management for Multi-modal Transportation
Infrastructure Systems (CIAMTIS), U.S. DOT Region 3 University
Transportation Center, 2021-2022 (no cost extension to 2023)
- Guidelines for selection and application of Manning’s roughness values in two-dimensional hydraulics models, PI, NCHRP, 2020-2023
- Evaluation of dust suppressants used on gravel roads – Water
quality impacts and dust suppression efficacy, co-PI (PI: Bill Burgos),
PA Department of Environmental Protection, 2020-2021
- Nature-based solutions for river restoration, PI, NSF, 2019-2022.
- Respiration in hyporheic zones: connecting mechanics, microbial biogeochemistry, and models, PI, DoE (sub-award through UT Austin), 2017-2020 (no-cost extension to 2021)
- Nature-like Fish passage design for the York Haven
Hydroelectric Dam, PI, (co-PIs: Johnson, P. A. and Ferreri, C. P.),
Cube Hydro Partners, 2017-2020 (no-cost extension to 2021)
- Impact of Oil & Gas Wastewater Disposal on Lake and River Sediments, co-PI (PI: Burgos, W. D., other co-PIs: Warner, N. R., Drohan, P. J., Vanden Heuvel, J. P. , and Dorman, F. L., NSF. 2017-2020 (no-cost extension to 2021)
- Evaluation of erodibility of sand infill placed in synthetic
grass, Phase 3, co-PI (25%; PI: M. Xiao), Watershed Geosynthetics
LLC, 2020
- Evaluation of erodibility of sand infill placed in synthetic
grass, Phase 2, co-PI (30%; PI: M. Xiao), Watershed Geosynthetics LLC,
2020
- Evaluation of erodibility of sand infill placed in synthetic
grass, Phase 1, co-PI (30%; PI: M. Xiao), Watershed Geosynthetics LLC,
2019-2020
- GRS-IBS specification modification, co-PI (PI: Xiao, M.),
PennDOT, 2019-2020
- Robust ecohydraulic 3D modeling tools for rivers with complex
instream structures, PI, U.S. Bureau
of
Relcamation, 2017-2020
- Three-dimensional computational modeling of turbulent flow field, bed morphodynamics and liquefaction adjacent to munitions", PI, Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), 2017-2020. (no-cost extension to 2021)
- Collaborative Research: Visualization, analysis, and HPC
modeling of subglacial hydrology from high-resolution 3D conduit scans
acquired with a novel sensor, PI, NSF, 2015-2017 (no-cost extension to
2018)
- Assignment agreement of Intergovernmental Personnel Act
(IPA): modeling of scour and soil erodability test apparatus, PI, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, 2015
- Accuracy evaluation and verification of FISP sediment samplers through CFD modeling, PI, USGS, 2015-2016
- Quantitative modeling tools for scour and morphological impact due to large wood debris structures, PI, U.S. Bureau of Relcamation, 2014-2017
- Pore-scale modeling of turbulent flows with realistic and physically correct particle arrangement, PI, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2013-2015
- CNIC: U.S.-Danish Research Planning Visit to Catalyze Computational and Experimental Research on Scour Protection of Offshore Wind Farms, PI, National Science Foundation, 2012-2013
- Assessment of the effects of regional channel stability and sediment transport on roadway hydraulic structures, PI, Texas DOT, 2011-2013
- Empirical flow parameters-A tool for hydraulic model validity assessment, co-PI, (PI: Theodore Cleveland, Texas Tech University), Texas DOT, 2010-2012
- Synthesis of Hydrologic and Hydraulic Impacts, co-PI (PI: Hatim Sharif, University of Texas at San Antonio), Texas DOT, 2010-2011
- Two-dimensional modeling of hydrodynamics, sediment transport, bed scour and armoring in St. Clair River, G. Parker (PI), X. Liu (Co-PI), sponsored by International Joint Commission, International Upper Great Lakes Study, 2008
Internal research grants
- Solving Surface Shallow Water Equations using Machine Learning Algorithms, Penn State ICDS Seed Grant, 2020
- 3D data acquisition and 3D printing to construct “Digital Twins”
for water and biogeochemical research, PSIEE, Penn State University,
2015
Invited talks/seminars
- Clarkson University, "Hydraulics and performance evaluations of fish passages based on CFD and individual-based methods", 2022
- Red Yaku, Peru, "Building computer models like Legos: Dynamics and prediction of coupled fluid-object-sediment systems", 2021
- Virginia Tech, "Dynamics and prediction of coupled fluid-object-sediment systems", 2019
- Penn State Environmental Engineering Seminar, "Computational
modeling: a tool for water and environmental research", 2019
- The 8th International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics, Notre Dame, IN, "Coupled LES-DEM Simulations of Particle Saltation", 2018
- Hohai University, China, "Computational hydraulics with OpenFOAM", 2017
- Wuhan University, China, "Computational hydraulics with
OpenFOAM", 2016
- Cornell University, "Computational modeling of free surface flows
around arbitrary objects:
Applications for environmental hydraulics,", 2014.
- PSU Fluid Dynamics Research Consortium (FDRC), "Immersed boundary method for free surface flows around arbitrary objects using OpenFOAM: Applications for environmental hydraulics," 2014.
- PSU Math Department, "Got PDEs to solve? Try the open source computational physics platform OpenFOAM®," 2014.
- U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Vicksburg, MS, "Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling of Porous Hydraulic Structures: A New Approach for an Old Problem," 2014.
- U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO, "Computational Fluid Dynamics
Modeling of Porous Hydraulic Structures: A New Approach for an Old
Problem," 2014.
- Flow Penetration into Porous Hydraulic Structures:A New
Computational Approach for an Old Multi-scale Problem, Univeristy of
Delaware, USA, 2013
- Flow Penetration into Porous Hydraulic Structures:A New
Computational Approach for an Old Multi-scale Problem, LSU, USA, 2013
- Density Current over Rough and Uneven Bottoms, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, TAMU, USA, 2013
- Simulation of Flow Field Around and Inside Scour Protection with Physical and Realistic Particle Configurations, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI), Denmark, 2012
- Generalized Kleiser and Schumann's Influence-Matrix Method for Direct Numerical Simulations of Turbulent Flows, National Microgravity Laboratory, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, 2012
- How can Angry Birds© save the world?Current research in the environmental fluid dynamics group at UTSA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Houston, USA, 2012
- DNS Simulations of Density Current using Generalized Kleiser and Schumann's Influence-Matrix Method, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, TAMU, USA, 2011
- Generalized Velocity Boundary Conditions and "tau" Error Corrections for Kleiser and Schumann's Influence-Matrix Method, UTSA, USA, 2010
- Modeling of Sediment Transport and Porous Medium Response under Currents and Waves, UT Austin, USA, 2010
- Numerical Models for Scour around Object under Currents and Waves, Argonne National Lab, Chicago, USA, 2009
- Local Scour and Liquefaction around Objects under Currents and Waves, University of Texas at San Antonio, USA, 2009
- Environmental Multiphase Flow Modeling, Pacific Northwest National Lab, USA, 2009
- Computational Modeling of Environmental Hydraulics, Queen’s University at Belfast, UK, 2009
- Modeling of Sediment Transport and Porous Medium Response Under Current and Waves, Tsinghua University, P.R. China, 2009
- Multiphase flow in environmental hydraulics: sediment transport, settling tanks, water quality and more. University of Illinois at Urbana and Champaign, USA, 2008
- Local Scour and Liquefaction around Objects under Waves, University of Illinois at Urbana and Champaign, USA, 2006