Assistant Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Christopher Douglas' research focuses on fluid and thermal sciences, with an emphasis on flow instability, combustion dynamics, and thermoacoustics. In his work, he develops theoretical and numerical methods to analyze, understand, and control the behavior of high-dimensional nonlinear systems encountered in engineering applications including turbines, rockets, and other energy systems, as well as in diverse natural phenomena such as atmospheric mixing and supernovae. His broader research interests include energy decarbonization and pollutant emissions abatement, with particular attention to alternative energy carriers like hydrogen and ammonia.
Appointments and Affiliations
- Assistant Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Contact Information
- Email Address: christopher.douglas@duke.edu
Education
- B.S. Bradley University, 2014
- Ph.D. Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021
Research Interests
Nonlinear dynamics, flow instability, thermofluid mechanics and combustion
Courses Taught
- ME 591: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
- ME 391: Undergraduate Projects in Mechanical Engineering
- EGR 244L: Dynamics
Representative Publications
- Douglas CM, Shanbhogue S, Ghoniem A, Zang G. Well-to-wake cost and emissions assessments for the Western Australiau2013East Asia green shipping corridor. Applied Energy. 2025 Apr 15;384.
- Wang C, Douglas CM, Guan Y, Xu C, Lesshafft L. Onset of global instability in a premixed annular V-flame. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 2024 Oct 28;998.
- Chevalier Q, Douglas CM, Lesshafft L. Resolvent analysis of swirling turbulent jets. Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics. 2024 Oct 1;38(5):641u201363.
- Douglas CM. A balanced outflow boundary condition for swirling flows. Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics. 2024 Aug 1;38(4):545u201356.
- Wang C, Douglas CM, Guan Y, Xu C, Lesshafft L. Onset of global instability in a premixed annular V-flame. 2024.
- Brokof P, Douglas CM, Polifke W. The role of hydrodynamic shear in the thermoacoustic response of slit flames. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute. 2024 Jan 1;40(1u20134).
- Douglas CM, Martz TD, Steele RC, Noble DR, Emerson BL, Lieuwen TC. Pollutant Emissions Reporting and Performance Considerations for Ammonia-Blended Fuels in Gas Turbines. Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power. 2024 Jan 1;146(1).
- Jouin A, Douglas CM, Cottu00e9 B, Lesshafft L, Jordan P. Resolvent analysis of subsonic jets: trapped modes and resonance mechanisms. In: 30th AIAA Ceas Aeroacoustics Conference 2024. 2024.
- Douglas CM, Polifke W, Lesshafft L. Flash-back, blow-off, and symmetry breaking of premixed conical flames. Combustion and Flame. 2023 Dec 1;258.
- Douglas CM, Martz TD, Steele RC, Noble DR, Emerson BL, Lieuwen TC. POLLUTANT EMISSIONS REPORTING AND PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS FOR AMMONIA-BLENDED FUELS IN GAS TURBINES. In: Proceedings of the ASME Turbo Expo. 2023.
- Douglas CM, Shaw SL, Martz TD, Steele RC, Noble DR, Emerson BL, et al. Pollutant Emissions Reporting and Performance Considerations for Hydrogen-Hydrocarbon Fuels in Gas Turbines. Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power. 2022 Sep 1;144(9).
- Douglas CM, Lesshafft L. Confinement effects in laminar swirling jets. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 2022 Aug 25;945.
- Douglas CM, Emerson BL, Lieuwen TC. Dynamics and bifurcations of laminar annular swirling and non-swirling jets. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 2022 Jul 25;943.
- Ek HM, Nair V, Douglas CM, Lieuwen TC, Emerson BL. Permuted proper orthogonal decomposition for analysis of advecting structures. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 2022 Jan 10;930.
- Douglas CM, Shaw SL, Martz TD, Steele RC, Noble DR, Emerson BL, et al. POLLUTANT EMISSIONS REPORTING AND PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS FOR HYDROGENu2013HYDROCARBON FUELS IN GAS TURBINES. In: Proceedings of the ASME Turbo Expo. 2022.
- Douglas CM, Emerson BL, Hemchandra S, Lieuwen TC. Forced flow response analysis of a turbulent swirling annular jet flame. Physics of Fluids. 2021 Aug 1;33(8).
- Douglas CM, Emerson BL, Lieuwen TC. Nonlinear dynamics of fully developed swirling jets. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 2021 Jan 1;924.
- Douglas C, Lim J, Smith T, Emerson B, Lieuwen T, Jiang N, et al. Measurements of periodic reynolds stress oscillations in a forced turbulent premixed swirling flame. Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power. 2019 Jan 1;141(1).
- Smith TE, Douglas CM, Emerson BL, Lieuwen TC. Axial evolution of forced helical flame and flow disturbances. Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 2018 Jun 10;844:323u201356.
- Douglas CM, Smith T, Emerson BL, Manoharan K, Hemchandra S, Lieuwen TC. Hydrodynamic receptivity predictions and measurements of an acoustically forced multi-nozzle swirl combustor. In: 2018 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; 2018.
- Douglas C, Lim J, Smith T, Emerson B, Lieuwen T, Jiang N, et al. Measurements of periodic Reynolds stress oscillations in a forced turbulent premixed swirling flame. In: Proceedings of the ASME Turbo Expo. 2018.
- Douglas C, Smith T, Emerson B, Manoharan K, Hemchandra S, Lieuwen T. Predictions and measurements of coherent structures in a transversely-forced multi-nozzle swirl combustor. In: AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting 2018. 2018.
- Manoharan K, Smith T, Emerson B, Douglas CM, Lieuwen T, Hemchandra S. Velocity Field Response of a Forced Swirl Stabilized Premixed Flame. In: Volume 4A: Combustion, Fuels and Emissions. American Society of Mechanical Engineers; 2017.
- Manoharan K, Smith T, Emerson B, Douglas CM, Lieuwen T, Hemchandra S. Velocity field response of a forced swirl stabilized premixed flame. In: Proceedings of the ASME Turbo Expo. 2017.
- Smith TE, Douglas CM, Emerson BL, Lieuwen TC. Axial evolution of helical flame and flow disturbances in a transversely forced combustor. In: AIAA Scitech Forum 55th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting. 2017.
- Douglas CM, Rouse WA, Driscoll JA, Timpe SJ. Experimental investigation and molecular dynamics simulations of impact-mode wear mechanisms in silicon micromachines with alkylsilane self-assembled monolayer films. Journal of Applied Physics. 2015 Oct 28;118(16).