Cranfield University

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Introduction

Aviation, space, automotive, chemical and process industries, atmospheric sciences, energy, medicine and environment, micro and nanotechnology. What do all of these areas have in common? Fluid flows. Our atmosphere is fluid, our environment is, to a certain extent, fluid and even our bodies are composed primarily of fluid. Computational Fluid Dynamics is an inherently interdisciplinary branch of science which has an extremely broad spectrum of applications.

There has been considerable growth in the development and application of CFD to all aspects of fluid dynamics leading to CFD becoming a standard modelling tool widely utilised within industry. In a recent survey by Technavio, the global market for CFD is project to grow at 16.5% per year due to increasing computational power and integration of CFD into the design process. Make no mistake about size – although distributed, this industry is worth billions of pounds.  As a consequence there is a considerable demand for specialists in the subject which is simply not covered in sufficient detail at undergraduate level.

The Master of Science in Computational Fluid Dynamics course at Cranfield University provides a solid background so that you will be able to apply CFD methods as a tool for design, analysis and engineering applications. It also gives you an understanding of the underlying methods such that enthusiastic students will be able to write their own CFD codes. For graduates interested in an academic career we provide you with an excellent basis from which to further specialise. 94% of our students are in relevant employment within 6 months from graduation. Our graduates have gone on to work for organisations such as Alstom, BAe Systems, Cummins Turbo Technology, BHR, ESTEC, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, NUMECA, ONERA, Rio Tinto and Seimens or undertake PhDs in a range of prestigious research institutes worldwide.

Our course has excellent links with industry. In the current academic year we have a range of seminars from industry experts and thesis projects with industry partners including ANSYS, AWE, the Aircraft Research Association, BAe Systems, DSTL, EADS, Jaguar Land Rover, Red Bull Technology, UKAEA amongst others.  Furthermore, the Fluid Mechanics and Computational Science department conducts world leading research in many aspects of CFD, which creates an exciting environment to pursue CFD studies in.

This course has been designed to reflect the wide application of CFD. It covers a broad range of areas from aerospace, turbomachinery, multi-phase flow and heat transfer, to microflows, environmental flows and fluid-structure interaction problems. The course is organised in a modular fashion and is specifically designed to accommodate both full-time and part-time study (see Modes of study).

We are committed to equipping you with the necessary skills to join this rapid growth industry – and look forward to welcoming you on our programme!