Personal profile
Biography
Dr Jianping Zhang is a Reader in Fire Dynamics and Material at the School of Architecture and the Built Environment. He holds a BEng (Honours) degree in Mechanical Engineering. After obtaining his PhD on "Numerical modelling of pool fires and flame spread" at Kingston University in 2005, he joined Ulster University as a research associate in the FP6 project PredFIRE-Nano, in which he was responsible for the development and validation of a complete methodology for predicting the burning behaviours of polymer nanocomposites based on intrinsic properties extracted from micro- and small-scale tests. He was appointed as Lecturer in 2008 and subsequently promoted to Reader in 2016. He has worked on FP7 projects including ENFIRO, AircraftFire and ELISSA and the H2020 project EENSULATE as well as projects funded by industry and UK government. His research interests consist of fundamental experimental investigation of material flammability and fire dynamics, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of flames and fires, numerical analysis of heat transfer and pyrolysis of solids, and application of quantitative risk analysis in fire safety engineering. He has published widely in the fields of fire safety, material flammability and combustion.
Education/Academic qualification
Master, Master of Education
Award Date: 16 Jun 2023
Post-graduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice (PgCHEP)
Award Date: 30 Jun 2011
PhD, Numerical modelling of pool fires and flame spread, Kingston University
Award Date: 30 Jun 2005
Bachelor, BEng, Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University
Award Date: 30 Jun 1998
External positions
External Examiner, BEng (Hons) Fire Engineering (Apprenticeships), Birmingham City University
2022 → 2026
External Examiner, BEng & BSc Honours programmes for Fire Safety Engineering, Letterkenny Institute of Technology
2016 → 2021
External Examiner, BSc (Hons) International Fire Safety Management, University of Central Lancashire
2016 → 2019
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy -
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure -
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities -
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production -
SDG 13 Climate Action
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Development of a double-network gel foam based on sodium carboxymethyl cellulose with enhanced extinguishing and re-ignition resistance performance for tank fires
Wu, C., Hu, Z., Zhang, J., Tian, C., Yuen, A. C. Y. & Zhao, J., 1 May 2026, In: Carbohydrate Polymers. 379, p. 1-13 13 p., 124996.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Experimental Study of Toxic Chemicals Diffusion through Firefighters’ Suit Ensembles
Rasouli Sadabad, H., Tretsiakova-McNally, S., Zhang, J. & Nadjai, A., 30 Sept 2026, In: Fire Safety Journal. 163, p. 1-25 25 p., 104841.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile6 Downloads (Pure) -
Intelligent identification of causative factors and construction of accident chain for crane operation
Zhao, J., Cui, H., Hu, Z., Kang, R., Li, J. & Zhang, J., 14 Jan 2026, In: Scientific Reports. 16, 1, p. 1-33 33 p., 1886.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Downloads (Pure) -
Risk assessment and key factors analysis of confined space operation using knowledge graph, association rules mining and Bayesian network
Cui, H., Zhao, J., Zhang, D., Kong, X. & Zhang, J., 1 Apr 2026, In: Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries. 100, p. 1-42 42 p., 105884.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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A Novel Quantitative Risk Assessment method for Storage Tank Fires Based on Numerical Modelling and Machine Learning
Zhao, J., Hu, Z., Li, X., Zhang, S., Zhai, X. & Zhang, J., 1 Dec 2025, In: Case Studies in Thermal Engineering. 76, p. 1-19 19 p., 107430.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile6 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
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THE NATURE OF TOXICANTS MOVING ACROSS THE LAYERS OF FIRE SUITS
Tretsiakova, S. (Speaker), Rasouli Sadabad, H. (Contributor), Zhang, J. (Contributor), Nadjai, A. (Speaker) & Chen, Y. K. (Contributor)
1 Jul 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
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Understanding the movement of toxic chemicals through firefighters protective clothing and PPE
Tretsiakova, S. (Chair), Rasouli Sadabad, H. (Chair), Zhang, J. (Organiser) & Nadjai, A. (Organiser)
12 Aug 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organising a conference, workshop, ...
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INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE SAFETY SCIENCE (External organisation)
Zhang, J. (Chair)
Sept 2024 → …Activity: Membership › Membership of committee
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The fate of toxic compounds travelling through layers of fire suits
Tretsiakova, S. (Speaker), Chen, Y. K. (Contributor), Zhang, J. (Contributor) & Nadjai, A. (Contributor)
17 Oct 2024Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Profiles
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Investigation of toxic chemicals transfer through clothing layers of fire suits
Tretsiakova, S. (PI), Nadjai, A. (CoI) & Zhang, J. (CoI)
1/09/24 → 31/08/27
Project: Research
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High Rise Tower Blocks Spandrel Wall Construction Research
Zhang, J. (CoI), Nadjai, A. (PI) & Alam, N. (CoI)
1/06/22 → 31/10/23
Project: Research
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Research on two-way coupled 3D simulation and inverse modelling of forest fire meteorology based on fire scale observed data
Zhang, J. (CoI), Zheng, H. (CoI) & Nadjai, A. (PI)
21/01/21 → 20/01/25
Project: Research
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EENSULATE: Development of Innovative Lightweight and Highly Insulating Energy Efficient Components - EEB-1-2016
Zhang, J. (CoI) & Hyde, T. (PI)
1/08/16 → 31/05/21
Project: Research
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Scaling and modelling of soot, heat feedback and burning rate of large-scale hydrocarbon pool fires
Zhang, J. (PI)
1/03/15 → 28/02/19
Project: Research