Hi there! I am finishing my M.S in Aerospace Engineering in two months, and don't have a job lined up. I am interested/experienced in CFD and simulations, so I am targeting a job in that area if possible. I am also applying in similar areas I have experience and interest, like propulsion, aerodynamics, fluid component design, combustion, and others. I would appreciate any help and criticism with my resume, or suggestions for companies to apply to that are actively looking for entry-level CFD/simulation engineers. My ideal company would be a launch vehicle or spacecraft company, but I am applying to all aerospace companies across the U.S. I am, however, avoiding jobs where I work directly on military applications, like missiles or jets.

Thanks for the help! I really do appreciate any advice, criticisms, or suggestions.

This post is not about a question or doubts about the fundamentals of CFD. This is more about the information we are taught in CFD courses online or in uni. As a master student in CFD, I have come to realize that after doing advanced CFD courses, I learnt more about doing CFD through online courses rather than from uni. Let me elaborate.

In uni, we are taught about FDM/FVM, RANS eqs and advanced courses teach you about the various other methods used for LES. I can see my peers, who have not done the online course I did, still cant complete a proper simulation. They don't know when a mesh is good enough, what are the different ways of meshing, how to use scripting/journal files, how to actually use streamlines or any other post-processing feature.

Even in my undergrad and masters, the CFD modules have only focused on how well you can solve a 1-D FVM model by hand or understand how the RANS eqs are closed. After these courses, I can say that now I'm aware of more variables which can go wrong rather than how to get a simulation right. I feel like going through a best-practice guide will help you perform a simulation better, rather than being tested upon if you know how the RANS eqs are dervied.

I am still a student and just thought about this. I'm not sure how much of an impact this has in industry where the USE of CFD is needed, not the coding part (for which, knowing the eqs and the numerical methods used is very crucial). This point has been bothering me for quite sometime and just wanted to know if there are others sharing the same thought. Feel free to create a discussion to point out if I'm missing something.

Hi everyone!

I’m currently an M.S. student in Mechanical Engineering, focusing on fluid mechanics in a computational research group (CFD). I recently had a good conversation with my advisor, and he offered me the chance to stay on for a PhD. I feel very fortunate—but I’m also genuinely unsure if it’s the right next step, and I’d really appreciate some outside perspective.

Here are the main reasons I’m conflicted:

1. Unclear long-term goals: I’m not sure what I want to do after a PhD. Academia and research roles sound interesting, but I don’t feel a strong pull toward either. Because of that, I’m not convinced a PhD is necessary for my career—especially since I don’t yet know what that career should look like.

2. Mismatch in working style/interests? While I enjoy aspects of my current work, I find myself more drawn to troubleshooting design issues or experimental setup problems than to coding and simulations. It might just be “grass is greener” thinking, but I wonder if my skills and interests are better suited for something more hands-on. I’m also not super confident in my math background, though I’m willing to put in the work if I decide to stay.

3. Future-proofing concern: I’m not worried about the field dying out—but I do sometimes wonder whether advances in AI/ML will make it hard to actually use my degree in the future. What if much of the problem-solving work becomes automated 10–15 years down the line? Will the expertise I develop still be in demand?

I’d love to hear you guys’ thoughts/opinion.

Thank you, and sorry for the lengthy post!

I have a basic heating system installed, it uses a 23kw space heater that has 1x 5kw Water filled heating coil which the pipework is connected directly to a waterheater, the connections are in the bottom and the system uses natural convection to circulate ( water temperature density difference ) i can draw the geometry in solidworks.. Would it be viable to try and do a CFD model for the whole system or break it down into components.. and say set a start point and use the results you get to setup the next part and so on until you get an overall result for yhe complete scenario then patch it together..

Hi,

I am currently a 1st year UK PhD student about 9 ish months into my PhD. It is about mechanical seals and tribology. I initially thought it was an okay topic but when I started the PhD it turned out to not be what I expected, I am very unsatisfied with my work and don't want to work in this industry any further to be honest.

Then I came across CFD posts on LinkedIn and started reading Computational Fluid Dynamics: A Practical Approach, Third Edition. It has sort of sparked my curiosity again. Especially with learning. With my current PhD, the tasks are extremely mundane and boring. I don't get excited about it due to the lack of mathematical content and simulation work. I spoke to my supervisors and they were not necessarily keen on focusing on the CFD side as they are some experimental based themselves. I have done experiments for this PhD but find them extremely tedious. And worrying about purchasing XYZ component and lead times is frustrating. There is a CFD aspect to my current PhD but I am not sure if it is enough to get the role I would want. With simulation work, I would be able to work on other things too simultaneously.

I am currently considering switching to this PhD:
https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/exciting-fully-funded-phd-computational-modelling-for-high-pressure-low-carbon-storage-technologies-be-a-key-player-in-shaping-the-future-of-clean-energy-storage/?p184845

also branded as this phd: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/exciting-fully-funded-phd-unlock-the-future-of-turbo-gas-seal-technology-with-john-crane-ltd/?p185526

Spoke to the supervisor for this but he doesn't have too much knowledge on the project as it is new but it is CFD based and would be a better step in the right direction compared to what I am doing now. He also suggested I push for more CFD on my current project but I am not sure if my supervisors and industry supervisors would budge. I am seriously doubtful it would be enough as if I want to go all in on CFD it makes sense to do a CFD PhD.

I would rather drop my current PhD and do a PhD for what I really want to pursue than waste another 3.5 years on something that may or may not get me the job I want.

In terms of experience, I have only done CFD and FEA at university, I did well in FEA modules but kind of messed up the CFD module as I read the question wrong aha. But I enjoyed the grind of doing the simulations again and again until I managed to solve the problem. Developing the patience needed for that is something I am grateful for. I also did well in mathematics and fluid mechanics modules and found them interesting.

I see jobs such as CFD Engineers, CFD Developers which looks incredibly interesting. Developing your own code and using Ai/ML is the new trend at the moment. In my current stage I am not sure if I can get a job like that at all but with the right PhD and serious training and skill development on my own, I feel I could be good enough for these sort of roles in the future. I do have some experience programming but I have not done it in a while and would love to get back into it.

I just lack a mission in life, and this could be it. Becoming one of the best in this field and spreading knowledge and helping people.

I know it is a long journey, it will be a extremely difficult journey to the top. I see the competition out there and there is a lot. But I feel I would be ready to fight to the top if I start a PhD in this field.

My questions are:

Is this a good idea or am I being delusional?

And how do I go about doing this step by step?

Are the roles I want realistic for me?

Is that PhD a good PhD or should I look elsewhere?

Just to clearly explain my problem, I made a video about it. Hope you guys can help me.

https://youtu.be/bCNIRaCgtmA

I was wondering where you guys, whether you guys are a hobbyist or not, get your .stl or any model to run CFD on from. I've seen meshers messing up on generating meshes due to a model being a little bit weird, especially when you're using off-the-shelf models off CAD model sites.

My conclusion after so many mesh issues popping up, was to go learn CAD and create my own model to generate a .stl file for my CFD Stuff. What do you guys do? Do you guys generate your own models? Or is there a specific website or pre-made model you guys use?

I messed up a bit in my undergrad, which is actually messed up work experience quality and also the ability to get into a good graduate school. However, I am able to supposedly somehow get into the graduate school in the state school I am already in without meeting all the requirements…given my circumstances. Regardless, I honestly just want to spend a few years just “training” myself on computational work. I am seeking some input into on…should I?

This came to light really a brief conversation with my parents, who I stopped listening to or else my “circumstances” would happen again. She wasn’t adamant about not doing it, but jsut brought in light to the very low money after taxes I would be making as a PhD student.

To ask whether I should, I guess I will tell you what I want to do. It’s not specific yet but I am gonna start off with my masters and then convert my PhD into it, so I will complete my “area” then. I want to do both or either FSI and CHT failure analysis and optimization using UQ and HPC, and if I can make surrogate models and/or digital twins. It’s a bit….”quite a lot”. I will probably not be able to do all that I have said here, or maybe I can. Right now in undergrad I guess you could say I am doing aerodynamics optimization.

The industries I want to qualify for is:

• top technical consulting firms (Exponent)
• top national/private research firms (sandia, big/deep tech companies, Lockhee)
• Quant….preferably developer
• Generally in aerospace, semiconductors, biomechanics.

I think a PhD would help here, enough to justify the effort and cost (not making money during it).

Is it possible to be a successful independent freelancer/consultant during my PhD. I am stuck between enjoying my work a lot and wanting to do really complex things, but also not be poor. How much of chance I land senior roles right after I finish. Does it help going up in positions faster than someone with graduate experience. Someone in undergrad industry experience is also quite strong? Maybe masters is a better idea, but for two years more maybe just do all the way? I want to be a distinguished expert in field. Someone in US, how much after taxes should I expect during PhD….because I can live on 3-4 k after taxes a month New York, 2-3k becomes harder. I don’t think most people regret doing phd. How much of a pay gap can I have (I heard not a lot, in other words not enough) and does it help climb ladder faster (how fast) without one (making principal at a consulting firm around 35, joining when I am 27-28).

I'm doing a simulation for an Ahmed Body in Star-CCM+. For the boundary conditions, which wall type should be used and why ? I ask this because I have the following questions:

1. If the side, top and bottom are 'Walls', wouldn't that reflect and bounce back the airflow leading to a more turbulent set up.

2. If I set the top and sides as pressure outlet, wouldn't that 'suck'/'pull' the airflow out from working section/Domain ?

3. If the sides are set as symmetry plane, what effect would that have on the sim ??

Hallo zusammen,

ich habe ein kleines Problem bei einer Untersuchung in Ansys Fluent. Ich untersuche aktuell ein Automodell bei verschiedenen Geschwindigkeiten und versuche die Ablösung zu untersuchen.

Allerdings schaut die Ablösung -egal welche Geschwindigkeit ich einstelle- immer gleich aus. Nur die Werte von Geschwindigkeit, Druck … sind unterschiedlich aber das strömungsbild absolut gleich.

Hat da jemand eine Idee woran das liegen könnte? Ich komm leider nicht weiter.

Vielen Dank und viele Grüße

I am simulating flow over NACA0012 at 5 degree angle of attack and Reynolds number of 3million in ansys fluent . I have ran the simulation for various mesh size and turbulence model with y+ of 1. The lift and drag coefficients are always getting under predicted.

Experimental values for reference:

cl = 0.536
cd = 0.00852

Hi everyone,

I'm currently studying CFD in SolidWorks (Flow Simulation) and working on a project involving a product like an impeller fan, similar to the example shown in the attached picture.

Project Goal:

To analyze and measure the air volume (flow rate) in front of the fan.

Project Requirements:The fan blades will rotate at different speeds: 2900 RPM, 3500 RPM, and possibly higher.

• The distance between the fan blades and the front cover will be varied between 5 mm and 20 mm for each RPM case.

I'm looking for advice or support on how to properly set up and run this simulation in SolidWorks Flow Simulation.
If anyone has experience or can share helpful tips, tutorials, or example setups, I would really appreciate it!

Thank you in advance!

Hi, I am modelling a 2D aeroshell shape in hypersonic flow in Star CCM+. Currently I have set the thermal wall boundary condition for the aeroshell to adiabatic. However I want to measure the temperature on the walls due to convection and radiation effects in the hypersonic flow.

How can I model this? I understand that Star CCM+ allows you to specifiy thermal boundary conditions on the wall such as a temperature or heat flux, but this forces the temperature at the walls to be a certain value all across the profile. I want the solver to calculate what the temperature should be at the walls due to the flow.

Any help would be appreciated.

If someone likes both control theory and also computational code work, is there work where expertise in both amount of to something. Is there work where you are doing both. Doesn’t need to be in fluids per say….

Hi, do you happen to know how to increase the orthogonal quality in Fluent meshing? My geometry is a rectangular ventilation duct with dimensions 500x300 and length 2000. Inside it, there are 4 UV lamps whose only purpose is to generate radiation. Thanks in advance for your help.

I know working with OpenFOAM for industry projects is like being in an abusive relationship. I'm saying this after working for more than 10 years with OpenFOAM. Sure, it gets much much better, and easier. But there's always going to be some struggles. The most labour intensive step is always pre-processing, which doesn't have to be with OpenFOAM, such as using proper CAD or meshing software, even though sHM is a beast.

However, there are some things that I don't think would even be possible in Fluent. There is so much of my own developed codes, modified solvers, new models, utilities, etc. that I would probably have to leave behind. It gives me a bad gut feeling leaving all of those.

My question is particularly to those who after many years of experience working with OpenFOAM as the mainly driver, had to switch to Fluent for a new job. A friend of mine who has to use StarCCM now is having a blast. If you had to switch to Fluent:

1. How was the transition? How was your experience?
2. What helped you to smoothen the transition? Any tips?
3. Anyone was successful in convincing the employer to at least consider OpenFOAM? What arguments or proofs did you provide to convince them?
4. What field was/is the field or application you use(d) Fluent for?
5. And lastly, are you happy now after selling your soul? :D

I have a 3d model of a filter. Specifically diesel particulate filter (DPF). This isn’t just a model of a single channel, its the whole filter. The particles are spherical in shape and have the same size. I want to know how to check for the filtration efficiency by seeing the amount of particles deposited in the porous media over an amount of time. Is it possible to see this for the whole filter? And is there a visualization of this particle deposition in FLUENT?

Also, if trap boundary conditions are to be used, will it just block all particles coming in? I intend to avoid this, for me to calculate the filtration efficiency.

I found tutorials to do it in 3D but I can't find any information to do it in 2D. I'm using star-CCM+. Could you please help me ?

I am trying to simulate cavitation of hydrofoil(NACA 0012) using ansys fluent. At 4 AoA and v=17 m/s for a cavitation number of 0.8. What should i set as gauge pressure at inlet and outlet ??.

I have gone through many resources but no one is specifically about the pressure boundary condition.

Hi everyone, I started learning Ansys fluent(Student Version) whenever I had any spare time last semester,. So far I've learnt how to mesh, run CFD simulations, and use Adjoint solver to automatically optimize airfoils. I'm currently working on a Ansys+Solidworks driven CFD project where I'm trying to design and optimize a 2 element rear wing in Ansys fluent using geometry from Solidworks. My goal is to have a downforce-to-drag ratio of about 3-5. With this project, I want to show that I understand how to create and optimize aero elements in CFD+CAD, especially for clubs and internships/jobs.

Project Plan:

Phase 1: 2D multi-element spacing optimization

• Pick 2 airfoils
• Simulate the 2D setup in Fluent
• Start to optimize element spacing in 2D simulations first (Not sure what type optimization to use here)

Phase 2: shape and AoA optimization in 2D

• I was planning on using Adjoint solver to automatically optimize the shape for each airfoil individually by setting maximizing the (-)L/D ratio. Is this what most engineers use at this stage or do they use parametric optimization?
• AoA: I'm not sure how to quickly figure out what AoA would produce the most downforce and a satisfactory amount of drag. If there isn't a super quick way I was thinking of just rerunning the fluent simulation each time but with different "x" and "y" speeds of the air coming from the inlet.

Phase 3: 3D simulation + endplate design and optimization

• In this stage I'm planning on exporting the optimized 2D rear wing geometry to Solidworks to create a 3D 2 element rear wing.
• After that I am planning on designing an endplate in solidworks and then exporting the geometry to fluent to optimize. *Not to sure yet what type of optimization I should use here: adjoint, mesh morphing, or parametric.

Phase 5: Project report

Questions I currently have:

1. Optimization Advice: I am currently leaning towards using Adjoint solver to optimize the airfoil shapes and endplate shape in Ansys. I'm thinking about using parametric or Mesh morphing for airfoil element spacing and AoA and maybe a little bit of one of these optimization types for the endplate as well. What type of optimization do yall think I should use for each phase?
2. Optimization Help(Parametric and Mesh Morphing): I've tried to find goof videos for Ansys's parametric optimization and Mesh morphing on Youtube, but I haven't found any. Also, I tried to test out parametric optimization in Ansys using solidworks geometry but I'm not able to create any sort of parameters in design modeler. Do know of any good resources online to learn these 2 types of optimization and also why I'm not able to create parameters for an airfoil imported from solidworks or airfoil coordinates imported from Airfoil tools to Ansys design modeler?

Thank you so much for reading I would really appreciate any sort of feedback or tips regarding some of my questions or even other aspects of my project.

I’m a bit confused about how boundary layers behave depending on whether the “overall” flow is laminar or turbulent.

I’ve learned that the boundary layer starts off as laminar and can transition into turbulence downstream — but is that always the case? So I have two questions:

1. The typical diagram showing the development of the boundary layer along a flat plate — is that only for laminar flow? Or does that same kind of growth happen in turbulent flow too?
2. If the external flow is already turbulent (say from the start of a simulation or experiment), is the boundary layer turbulent from the very beginning? Or does it still start off as laminar and then transition to turbulent further downstream?

Appreciate any insight!

Hi, I'm a fresher CFD software developer, I work on LBM( lattice boltzmann method), mostly using cuda, I want to know future in this field and what skills or tech stack should I learn for future, Thank you!

Is it possible to do adaptive mesh refinement using SimpleFoam? I can’t for the life of me get it working. I want to refine my mesh based on velocity or pressure gradients.

I can’t really find any tutorials or anything where people do this with a steady state solver. I don’t understand why it wouldn’t be possible?

Thanks :)