About Fluid Mechanics
Fluid mechanics is the study of fluids, how they move, how they mix, how they interact with the material containing them, and how they affect human civilisation.
For a civil engineer fluid mechanics covers a wide variety of problems that practising civil engineers must understand and solve, like:
- the flow of water in underground aquifers that supply water for irrigation or drinking,
- the disposal of waste in rivers, estuaries and coastal areas,
- flood prediction,
- stop bank and spillway design,
- rainfall monitorings,
- nutrient mixing in lakes and reservoirs,
- transport of sediments in rivers,
- wave action on harbours and beaches,
- design of urban stormwater and sewage systems.
Fluid mechanics is an interdisciplinary subject that brings together experts in such diverse areas as physics, geology, geography, mathematics, ecology, biology, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering. It is a subject that provides a fascinating set of challenges to the researcher and practising engineer alike.
The following academic staff members are involved in fluids research: