Yuanpeng Yao

PhD, Associate Researcher

Email: yaoyuanpeng@@gdiist.cn

Personal Profile

Yuanpeng Yao earned his Ph.D. from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2018. From 2018 to 2022, he held postdoctoral and visiting research positions at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the University of Nottingham and the University of Kent, respectively. From 2022 to 2024, he served as the department manager at Freshape company. He was leader of projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Youth Fund), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, International Postdoctoral Exchange Fellowship Program and Freshape company. Additionally, he has been a key researcher in projects such as the National Basic Research Program of China (973), NSFC key project and European H2020-MSCA-RISE of ThermaSMART. Dr Yao’s publications are well-known in the broad area of thermal sciences and engineering. His research works on heat transfer in porous media and its use in latent-heat thermal energy storage have been published in the leading international journals, including Applied Energy, ASME Journal of Heat Transfer, Nano Energy, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, and Applied Thermal Engineering. These works are widely cited in the professional community. His research was recognized with the First Prize in Natural Science (Ministry of Education of China) and the Best Paper Award of Heat & Mass Transfer Conference (China Society of Engineering Thermophysics). The PhD student he supervised won the Best Paper Presentation Award at the 17th ICCMS Conference (under ACM). Besides invited as the review expert for the NSFC, the National Science Center of Poland, and the Slovak Research and Development Agency, he is a guest editor for Frontiers in Thermal Engineering.

Research interests:

1. High-efficiency cooling technology for microelectronic chips and data centers

2. Theory and methods on hierarchical transport and thermodynamic regulation

3. Novel thermal energy storage using phase change/thermochemical materials

Representative publications:

1. Yao Y., Zhou R., Prediction of directional effective thermal conductivity of anisotropic open-cell metal foam, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 166 (2025) 109136. (SCI, EI)

2. Yao Y., Wu H., Interfacial heat transfer in metal foam porous media (MFPM) under steady thermal conduction condition and extension of Lemlich foam conductivity theory, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 169 (2021) 120974. (SCI, EI)

3. Yao Y., Wu H., Macroscale modeling of solid–liquid phase change in metal foam/paraffin composite: Effects of paraffin density treatment, thermal dispersion, and interstitial heat transfer, ASME Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications, 13 (4) (2021) 041024. (SCI, EI)

4. Yao Y., Wu H., Thermal energy discharging performance of metal foam/paraffin composite phase change material at pore scale, ASME Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications, 13 (5) (2021) 051007. (SCI, EI)

5. Yao Y., Wu H., Thermal transport process of metal foam/paraffin composite (MFPC) with solid-liquid phase change: An experimental study, Applied Thermal Engineering, 179 (2020) 115668. (SCI, EI)

6. Yao Y., Wu H., Pore-scale simulation of melting process of paraffin with volume change in high porosity open-cell metal foam, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 138 (2019) 322-340. (SCI, EI)

7. Yao Y., Wu H., Gao Z., Liu Z., Pore-scale visualization and measurement of paraffin solidification in high porosity open-cell copper foam, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 135 (2019) 94-103. (SCI, EI)

8. Yao Y., Wu H., Liu Z., Gao Z., Pore-scale visualization and measurement of paraffin melting in high porosity open-cell copper foam, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 123 (2018) 73-85. (SCI, EI)

9. Yao Y., Wu H., Liu Z., Direct simulation of interstitial heat transfer coefficient between paraffin and high porosity open-cell metal foam, ASME Journal of Heat Transfer, 140 (2017) 032601-032611. (SCI, EI)

10. Yao Y., Wu H., Liu Z., Pore scale investigation of heat conduction of high porosity open-cell metal foam/paraffin composite, ASME Journal of Heat Transfer, 139 (2017) 091302-091311. (SCI, EI)

11. Yao Y., Wu H., Liu Z., A new prediction model for the effective thermal conductivity of high porosity open-cell metal foams, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 97 (2015) 56-67. (SCI, EI)

12. Yang Z., Yao Y. (co-first author), Wu H., Effects of surfactants on subcooled pool boiling characteristics: An experimental study, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2022, 123419. (SCI, EI)

13. Zhang S., Yao Y., Jin Y., et al. Heat transfer characteristics of ceramic foam/molten salt composite phase change material (CPCM) for medium-temperature thermal energy storage, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2022, 196: 123262. (SCI, EI)

14. Li Y., Yao Y., Wu H., Experimental investigation of flow boiling characteristics in counter-flow microchannels with different mass flux distributions, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2022, 190, 122768. (SCI, EI)

15. Cheng X., Yao Y., Wu H., An experimental investigation of flow boiling characteristics in silicon-based groove-wall microchannels with different structural parameters, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 168 (2021) 120843. (SCI, EI)

16. Gao Z., Yao Y., Wu H., A visualization study on the unconstrained melting of paraffin in spherical container, Applied Thermal Engineering, 155 (2019) 428-436. (SCI, EI)

17. Gao Z., Yao Y., Wu H., Validation of a melting fraction-based effective thermal conductivity correlation for prediction of melting phase change inside a sphere, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 142 (2019) 247-257. (SCI, EI)

18. Liu Z., Yao Y., Wu H., Numerical modeling for solid–liquid phase change phenomena in porous media: Shell-and-tube type latent heat thermal energy storage, Applied Energy, 112 (2013) 1222-1232. (SCI, EI,ESI Highly Cited Paper)

19. Li Y., Wu H., Yao Y., Experimental study on flow boiling characteristics in short counter-flow slot interconnected microchannels, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 203 (2024) 109143. (SCI, EI)

20. Li Y., Wu H., Yao Y., Enhanced flow boiling heat transfer and suppressed boiling instability in counter-flow stepped microchannels, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2022, 194, 123025. (SCI, EI)

21. Zhang S., Li Z., Yao Y., Tian L., Yan Y., Heat transfer characteristics and compatibility of molten salt/ceramic porous composite phase change material, Nano Energy, 100 (2022) 107476. (SCI, EI)

22. Gao Z., Wu H., Yao Y., Two-stage heat transfer characteristics of constrained melting inside an isothermally heated horizontal cylinder, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 144 (2019) 107-118. (SCI, EI)

23. Errebii M., Mourid A., EI Alami M., Yao Y., Evaluation and optimization of thermal exchange performance for a metal foam/phase change material composite integrated into a heat sink, Journal of Energy Storage, 99 (Part A) (2024) 113211. (SCI, EI)

24. Yao Y., Wu H., Numerical simulation of melting in metal foam/paraffin composite phase change material using a physically more reasonable macroscale model, Proceedings of the ASME 2019 Heat Transfer Summer ConferenceBellevue, Washington, USA. July 14-17, 2019. V001T02A007. (EI)

25. Yao Y., Wu H., Liu Z., Numerical study of heat conduction of high porosity open-cell metal foam/paraffin composite at pore scale, Proceedings of the ASME 2016 Heat Transfer Summer ConferenceWashington, DC, USA. July 10-14, 2016. V001T02A006. (EI)

26. Yao Y., Zhang S., Yan Y., Wu H., Boundary heat flux bifurcation for low Reynolds number fluid convection through high porosity open-cell metal foam, 17th UK Heat Transfer Conference (UKHTC2021)Manchester, UK, Sept. 5-7, 2021.

27. Yao Y., Li J., Li B., Trans-scale Computational Study on Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow in Gyroid Lattice Structure (GLS)-Based Composite Thermal Function Materials, International Conference on Computer Modeling and Simulation (ICCMS 2025), Zhuhai, China, June 13-15, 2025. (EI) 

28. Zhou R., Yao Y., Numerical Simulation of Thermofluidic Transport in Anisotropic Metal Foam Porous Media, International Conference on Computer Modeling and Simulation (ICCMS 2025), Zhuhai, China, June 13-15, 2025. (EI) 

29. Liu Z., Yao Y., Wu H., Numerical modeling for solid-liquid phase change phenomena in porous media, 2012 International Conference on Applied Energy, Suzhou, China, July 5-8, 2012.

30.Liu Z., Wang H., Yao Y., Wu H., Multiscale modeling of flow and heat transfer in porous media, Proceedings of the ASME 2012 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and ExpositionHouston, Texas, USA. November 9-15, 2012. pp. 1659-1666. (EI) 

LIN Shifeng’s Research Group