Dr Zahir Hussain is currently a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at MMU. As an applied mathematician, his research interests lie in the development of mathematical models and numerical methods to describe rotating boundary-layer fluid flows. He is an active researcher in the field of hydrodynamic stability theory, in which he has numerous journal and conference publications, most notably multiple recent outputs of international quality and standard. As an expert on the application of asymptotics and numerics to boundary-layer flows, he has developed a new theoretical formulation to model the stability of air flow over sharp spinning bodies. Meanwhile, Dr Hussain maintains excellent links with researchers at Leicester, Cambridge and Sydney, Australia, as well as with the related UK Fluids Network (UKFN) Special Interest Groups on ‘Boundary Layers and Complex Rotating Flows’ and ‘Flow Instability, Modelling and Control’. Along with a Visiting Research Fellow position at Sydney, Dr Hussain has recently developed collaborative links with KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, on three-dimensional rotating boundary-layer flows.
Dr Hussain’s research group is the Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Flow Analysis (CMMFA). Based within the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), the group undertakes research in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and aerodynamics, benefitting from a 20-year strong reputation and growing expertise, as evidenced by recent EPSRC support amounting to £1.5M. As an expert in hydrodynamic stability theory, Dr Hussain welcomes interest from skilled fluid mechanics researchers and potential PhD students to join his research team within the CMMFA.
2009 PhD in Applied Mathematics (University of Birmingham)
2005 Advanced Studies in Mathematics - Part III (University of Cambridge)
2004 BA Hons in Mathematics, MA (University of Cambridge)
Current research students
Previous research students
PhD
Master's
Fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic stability theory, boundary-layer transition over rotating bodies, aerodynamics, asymptotics, Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD), non-Newtonian fluid flows, absolute and convective instabilities, non-modal stability theory, CFD of aerodynamically significant flows.
Z. Hussain, S. J. Garrett, S. O. Stephen, P. T. Griffiths (2016). The centrifugal instability of the boundary-layer flow over a slender rotating cone in an enforced axial free stream. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 788, pp.70-94.
Z. Hussain, S. J. Garrett, S. O. Stephen (2014). The centrifugal instability of the boundary-layer flow over slender rotating cones. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 755, pp.274-293.
Z. Hussain, S. J. Garrett, S. O. Stephen (2011). The instability of the boundary layer over a disk rotating in an enforced axial flow. Physics of Fluids. 23(11)(114108), pp.1-13.
S. J. Garrett, Z. Hussain, S. O. Stephen (2009). The cross-flow instability of the boundary layer on a rotating cone. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 622, pp.209-232.
R. Miller, PT. Griffiths, Z. Hussain, SJ. Garrett (2020). On the stability of a heated rotating-disk boundary layer in a temperature-dependent viscosity fluid. Physics of Fluids. 32(2), pp.024105-024105.
R. Miller, S. J. Garrett, P. T. Griffiths, Z. Hussain (2018). Stability of the Blasius boundary layer over a heated plate in a temperature-dependent viscosity flow. Physical Review Fluids. 3(11)(113902), pp.1-36.
P. T. Griffiths, S. J. Garrett, S. O. Stephen, Z. Hussain (2017). Quantifying non-Newtonian effects in rotating boundary-layer flows. European Journal of Mechanics - B/Fluids. 61(2), pp.304-309.
P. D. Towers, Z. Hussain, P. T. Griffiths, S. J. Garrett (2016). Viscous modes within the compressible boundary-layer flow due to a broad rotating cone. IMA Journal of Applied Mathematics. 81(5), pp.940-960.
Z. Hussain, S. J. Garrett, S. O. Stephen, P. T. Griffiths (2016). The centrifugal instability of the boundary-layer flow over a slender rotating cone in an enforced axial free stream. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 788, pp.70-94.
Z. Hussain, S. J. Garrett, S. O. Stephen (2014). The centrifugal instability of the boundary-layer flow over slender rotating cones. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 755, pp.274-293.
Z. Hussain, S. J. Garrett, S. O. Stephen (2012). The centrifugal instability of a slender rotating cone. Journal of Algorithms and Computational Technology. 6(1), pp.113-128.
Z. Hussain, S. J. Garrett, S. O. Stephen (2011). The instability of the boundary layer over a disk rotating in an enforced axial flow. Physics of Fluids. 23(11)(114108), pp.1-13.
S. J. Garrett, Z. Hussain, S. O. Stephen (2010). Boundary-Layer Transition on Broad Cones rotating in an Imposed Axial Flow. AIAA Journal. 48(6), pp.1184-1194.
S. J. Garrett, Z. Hussain, S. O. Stephen (2009). The cross-flow instability of the boundary layer on a rotating cone. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 622, pp.209-232.
P. T. Griffiths, R. Miller, Z. Hussain, S. J. Garrett (2019). Temperature dependent boundary-layer flows. In: Proceedings of the 8th Bifurcations and Instabilities in Fluid Dynamics Symposium. Limerick, Ireland, 16/7/2019.
Z. Hussain, J. Unadkat, S. J. Garrett, S. O. Stephen (2018). Recent developments on the stability of boundary-layer flow over a rotating cone. In: Proceedings of the 1st UKFN Conference. Manchester, UK, 4/9/2018.
Z. Hussain (2016). Competing instabilities of rotating boundary-layer flows in an axial free-stream. In: Proceedings of the 16th ISROMAC 2016. Honolulu, USA, 10/4/2016.
S. J. Garrett, Z. Hussain (2014). The centrifugal stability of the boundary-layer flow over slender rotating cones. In: Bulletin of the American Physical Society. San Francisco, CA, USA, 23/11/2014.
S. J. Garrett, Z. Hussain, A. Barrow, P. D. Towers (2010). Boundary-layer transition over aerodynamically-significant rotating bodies. In: Bulletin of the American Physical Society. Los Angeles, CA, USA, 21/11/2010.
Z. Hussain, S. J. Garrett, S. O. Stephen (2010). The centrifugal instability of the boundary layer on a slender rotating cone in a forced free-stream. In: Bulletin of the American Physical Society. Los Angeles, CA, USA, 21/11/2010.
Z. Hussain, S. J. Garrett, S. O. Stephen (2010). The centrifugal instability of the boundary layer on a slender rotating cone. In: Book of Abstracts of 8th European Fluid Mechanics Conference. Bad Reichenhall, Germany, 13/9/2010.
Z. Hussain, SJ. Garrett, SO. Stephen (2010). Transition mechanisms within the boundary-layer flow over slender vs. broad rotating cones. In: 40th AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference. Chicago, IL, USA, 28/6/2010.
S. J. Garrett, Z. Hussain, S. O. Stephen (2009). Boundary-Layer Transition on Broad Cones Rotating in an Imposed Axial Flow. In: Proceedings of the 39th AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference, Paper AIAA-2009-3810. San Antonio, TX, USA, 22/6/2009.
Z. Hussain, S. J. Garrett, S. O. Stephen (2008). The crossflow instability of the boundary layer on a rotating cone. In: Book of Abstracts of 7th European Fluid Mechanics Conference. Manchester, UK, 14/9/2008.
Z. Hussain, S. O. Stephen (2007). Instability of the 3D boundary layer flow over a rotating cone. In: Bulletin of the American Physical Society. Salt Lake City, UT, USA, 18/11/2007.
Reviewer of journal articles for Physics of Fluids and European Journal of Mechanics.