•  Fluid-structure Interactions in Ocean Engineering (e.g. VIV, Galloping, etc.)

• Nonlinear Dynamics for Marine Flexible and Slender Structures

• Design and Analysis of Marine Pipelines, Cables and Mooring lines

• Software Development for Dynamic Analysis and Safety Evaluation of Marine Flexible and Slender Structures

• Model Test in Ocean Engineering

Education Experience:

• 2019/12-2020/12: University College London, Fluid Mechanics (Joint Ph.D.)

• 2017/09-2020/12: Harbin Engineering University, Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering (Ph.D.)

• 2015/09-2017/06: Harbin Engineering University, Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering (M.Sc.)

• 2011/09-2015/06: Harbin Engineering University, Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering (B.Sc.)

Work Experience:

• 2023/05-Present: South China University of Technology, School of Marine Science and Engineering, Associate Professor / Ph.D. Supervisor

• 2021/01-2023/04: Dalian University of Technology, State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Postdoctoral Fellow / Assistant Researcher (Co-advisor: Liang Cheng)

Dr. Cheng Zhang specializes in offshore equipment systems like risers, mooring lines, and wind power cables for deep-sea oil, gas, and renewable energy applications. His pioneering research in nonlinear dynamics and fluid-structure interaction mechanics addresses the complex deformations of flexible marine structures. Dr. Cheng Zhang has developed high-precision analysis methods for large-deformation systems and proprietary software for marine cable performance and stability, contributing to significant cost reductions in Guangdong's offshore wind farms.

Dr. Cheng Zhang has led research projects totaling over 6.8 million RMB and has published 42 high-impact papers in journals such as the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Physics of Fluids, and Marine Structures. His work addresses critical challenges in marine resource and energy development, resulting in 11 patents and software copyrights. Dr. Cheng Zhang also serves as a committee member of the International Consortium on Geo-disaster Reduction (ICGdR) and is a guest editor for Frontiers in Marine Science. He has received the China Postdoctoral Innovative Talent Support Program and the Guangzhou Young Top Talent Award.

Five selected projects:

• National Natural Science Foundation of China (52201310) - Study on flow field interference and vortex-induced vibrations in multi-degree-of-freedom oscillating boundary conditions for riser arrays (2023/01-2025/12, 300,000 RMB, in progress, PI).

• Postdoctoral Innovation Talents Support Program (2021) - Study on wake interference and boundary disturbances affecting vortex-induced vibrations in deep-sea riser arrays (2021/05-2023/05, 630,000 RMB, completed, PI).

• Guangdong Energy Group Science and Technology Research Institute Ltd. (STI/23-071/072) - Research on seabed scour and cable protection mechanisms for offshore wind power (2023/09-2024/09, 5.37 million RMB, in progress, PI).

• 69th batch of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M690508) - Study on unsteady flow-induced vibrations under background flow and floating body movement (2021/05-2023/05, 80,000 RMB, completed, PI).

• National Energy Deepwater Oil and Gas Engineering Technology R&D Centre - Research on bottom interactions and fatigue assessment of deepwater risers (2024/07-2026/07, 300,000 RMB, in progress, co-PI).

Five selected papers:

• Cheng Zhang, Guoqiang Tang*, Lin Lu, Yan Jin, Hongwei An, Liang Cheng. Flow-induced vibration of two tandem square cylinders at low Reynolds number: transitions among vortex-induced vibration, biased oscillation and galloping[J]. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2024, 986: A10.

• Cheng Zhang, Lin Lu*, Qiangying Cao, Liang Cheng, Guoqiang Tang. Nonlinear motion regimes and phase dynamics of a free standing hybrid riser system subjected to ocean current and vessel motion. Ocean Engineering, 252, 111197.

• Lin Lu, Zhongbing Zhou, Cheng Zhang*. Flow regime identification and flow instability analysis of oscillatory flows over twin circular cylinders[J]. Physics of Fluids, 2023, 35(10), 103601.

• Cheng Zhang, Zhuang Kang*, Thorsten Stoesser, Zhihua Xie, Lucy Massie. Experimental investigation on the VIV of a slender body under the combination of uniform flow and shear oscillatory flow[J]. Ocean Engineering, 216, 108094.

• Cheng Zhang, Zhuang Kang*, Wenchi Ni**, Zhihua Xie. Coupling effects of top-end dynamic boundary with a planar trajectory of “8” on three-dimensional VIV characteristics[J]. Marine Structures, 2022, 86: 103304.