Marwan Hassan

Education and Employment Background 

Dr. Marwan Hassan received his PhD from McMaster University in 2000. Between 2001 and 2011, Hassan held a position at the University of New Brunswick—first as an Assistant Professor and later as an Associate Professor. He joined the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph in 2011 where he is now a full Professor.

Research Themes 

Hassan’s research focuses on the advancement of mechanics as an engineering science by combining its three main disciplines—solid, fluids, and controls—such that they successfully interact. He uses structural modeling, computational techniques, and experimental results to develop a framework to evaluate the performance of structures. Key areas of focus include:

1. Time-Domain fluidelastic instability models. It is widely accepted that tube bundle vibrations are caused by three main mechanisms: a) turbulence excitation, b) vortex shedding, and c) fluidelastic instability (FEI). Fluidelastic instability is by far the most serious mechanism as it can cause catastrophic failure. One key challenge is modeling U-bend tubes with non-uniform flow distribution. Hassan and his team conducted simulations of flow-induced vibrations in a U-bend tube bundle subjected to fluidelastic instability and turbulence. Through developing a reliable time domain FEI model, Hassan and his group can simulate and examine practical tube bundle problems.
2. Modelling of fluids forces in tube bundles. The overall goal of this research was to apply CFD to simulate the unsteady fluid forces and the associated fluid force coefficients for different tube bundles. The obtained force coefficients were then integrated in an UFM to predict the stability threshold, with the goal of evaluating the combined CFD/UFM approach.
3. Active vibration control of flexible structures. Increasingly, lighter components are being utilized in many applications, such as automobiles, aircraft, and space structures. In space applications, structures such as space trusses and manipulators are made of lightweight materials to allow high speed and lower power consumption operations. These structures are characterized by having very low damping and natural frequencies. Therefore, they are susceptible to unwanted vibrations when in motion. In the case of manipulators, these vibrations constitute persistent disturbances that affect the end effector trajectory. Hassan and his team work to develop an enhanced algorithm to actively control flexible structures.

Highlights 

• Guest Editor, Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology, 2019
• Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission grant, 2017
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery grant, 2015
• The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology, Editor’s Choice Award, 2012

Media Coverage

Funding

• OntarioTech University: Improving the reliability and safety of nuclear power plant piping systems