RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Coastal Engineering & Environmental Fluid Mechanics:
Wave breaking processes; Wave-structure interactions; Tsunami; Sediment dynamics; Turbulent transport processes; Turbulent jet flows; Open channel hydraulics; Scour

Experimental Techniques:  
Non-intrusive quantitative velocity and scalar measurement techniques: particle image velocimetry (PIV), laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV), and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF); Fiber-optic based flow measurement techniques; Nano and fiber optics sensors.

Computational Fluid Mechanics: 
Boundary integral equation method solving potential flows; Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations with k-e turbulence closure model solving turbulent flows.

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS:

Field and Numerical Investigation of Tidal Vortices for Exchange Flows through Inlets on the Texas Coast
Sponsor: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Sea Grant College Program
Investigators: S. Socolofsky, K.-A. Chang, P. Lynett, and J. Irish
Student Investigators: K. Whilden (M.S.) and D. H. Kim (Ph.D.)

Site Specific Wave Parameters for Texas Coastal Bridges
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation
Investigators: J. Jin, V. Panchang, K.-A. Chang, B. Edge, J. Irish
Student Investigator: K. Song (M.S.)

Realtime Monitoring of Scour Events Using GPS Technology
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation
Investigators: J.-L. Briaud, K.-A. Chang, and S. Hurlebaus
Student Investigator: H. Nouri (Ph.D.), O.-Y. Yu (Ph.D.), C. Yao (Ph.D.), C. Darby (M.S.)

Effects of Dynamic Turbulence on Erosion Rates in Cohesive Soils
Sponsor: Federal Highway Administration
Investigators: J.-L. Briaud and K.-A. Chang
Student Investigator: TBD

Abutment Scour in Cohesive Materials
Sponsor: National Academy of Sciences - National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Investigators: J.-L. Briaud, H.-C. Chen, and K.-A. Chang
Student Investigators: X. Chen (Ph.D.), S. J. Oh (Ph.D.), and B. Devadason (M.S.)

Loads due to Extreme Wave Crests
Sponsor: Department of Interior - Minerals Management Service and Various Industry Sponsors
Investigators: K.-A. Chang, H.-C. Chen and R. S. Mercier
Student Investigators: K. Ariyarathne (Ph.D.), A. Antoine (M.S.), Y. Ryu (Ph.D.), and K. Yu (Ph.D.)

Establish Guidance for Soils Properties-Based Prediction of Meander Migration Rate
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation
Investigators: J.-L. Briaud, H.-C. Chen, and K.-A. Chang
Student Investigators: P. Yeh (Ph.D.), N. Park (Ph.D.), and W. Wang (Ph.D.)

Perforated Breakwater: Energy Dissipation and Scalar Exchange
Sponsor: Korea Science and Engineering Foundation
Investigators: K.-A. Chang and J.-I. Lee (Korea Institute of Construction Technology)
Student Investigator: K. Ariyarathne (M.S.), Y. Ryu (KICT)

Flow Characteristics of Hydraulic Jump and Free Overfall
Sponsor: Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Taiwan
Investigators: K.-A. Chang and C. Lin (National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan)
Student Investigators: T.-C. Ho (Ph.D. at NCHU) and S.-C. Hsieh (Ph.D. at NCHU)

Experimental Study of Wave Breaking in Deep Water
Investigator: K.-A. Chang
Student Investigator: H.-J. Lim (Ph.D.)

Nano and Fiber Optic Sensors
Investigators: K.-A. Chang, C. B. Su, and J. Kameoka

RECENTLY COMPLETED RESEARCH PROJECTS:

Laboratory Investigation of Sea Chest Discharge from CVN on Benthic Sediments
Sponsor: U.S. Navy - Naval Surface Warfare Center
Investigators: B. L. Edge, K.-A. Chang, and R. Randall
Student Investigators: P. Yeh (Ph.D.) and J. Henriksen (Ph.D.)

Laboratory Studies of Exchange Processes through Tidal Inlets on the Texas Coast
Sponsor: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Sea Grant College Program
Investigators: S. Socolofsky, K.-A. Chang, and P. Lynett
Student Investigators: F. Roure (M.S.), D. H. Kim (Ph.D.), and L. Augustin (M.S.)

Jet Diffusion and Dispersion in Wave Environment
Investigators: K.-A. Chang and N. Mori (Osaka City University, Japan)
Student Investigators: Y. Ryu (M.S./Ph.D.) and A. Chellappan (M.E.)

Mitigating Greenwater Damage Through Design
Sponsor: Department of Interior - Minerals Management Service and Various Industry Sponsors
Investigators: K.-A. Chang, H.-C. Chen and R. S. Mercier
Student Investigators: Y. Ryu (Ph.D.) and K. Yu (Ph.D.)

MRI: Acquisition of a Directional Random Wave Generator for the Coastal Engineering Laboratory Wave Basin
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Investigators: B. L. Edge, K.-A. Chang, P. Lynett, and D. S. Sherman

Stability Analysis of Small Pontoon-Based Platforms at High Sea States
Sponsor: U.S. Navy - Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center
Investigators: H.-C. Chen and K.-A. Chang
Student Investigator: K. H. Jung (Ph.D./Postdoc)