[makker]

I'm going for my Master's degree this coming year and I want to specialize in CFD.

I'm currently interning and being given some projects to look into related to CFD but it feels quite overwhelming. There's the theory, the modelling, the solver parameters, meshing and it still feels like there's so much more like the programming. I feel like I know nothing of the subject at all (probably true). I can model basic problems but anything else and I just don't know where to start.

Can anyone give me advice on the things I need to be thorough with before I go to specialize in CFD? Book recommendations and tips on how to get better with the software would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Super Anxious Intern

[flotus1]

Originally Posted by makker

I feel like I know nothing of the subject at all (probably true). I can model basic problems but anything else and I just don't know where to start.

This feeling probably won't go away any time soon. But in my opinion it is not necessarily something to be concerned about but a rather helpful mindset. It keeps you curious and learning.
The reason to specialize in CFD should be that you want to learn more about it. And not that you already know everything you need to know, or at least think so

[sbaffini]

I'll tell you a story...

I come from classical studies and, while i always performed more in math than anything else, i can honestly say i've always been an average student in my pre-university career.

When i started the engineering studies, i clearly had a gap with respect to my collegues with scientific background. And the thing pretty much remained so for the whole first year.

Then, something happened, i found something i really liked (with a more late perspective, it might just have been an inconscious mechanism based on reward, but that has little relevance). That just produced the most important single result i could have ever wanted: the fear disappeared. I was not anymore scared but excited about what i had to learn. And i enjoyed any single day I spent learning instead of something else.

That was obviously before even approaching CFD. And something similar to what you are experiencing now came back when i read the first CFD book (Versteeg and Malalasekera). There was so much stuff in it, all of which i realized was a distinct discipline.

What i did, however, was the exact opposite of what you are doing. I just played along without concern about my career path. In that moment i just faced what was necessary to get my bachelor degree, without concerns about what doing next. Because i just enjoyed the moment (obviously, the fact that in Italy we don't pay university 40k something per year might have helped enjoying).

And that, somehow, is what i still do today. The day after i defended my Ph.D. i interviewed for a programmer position, something i have never did before seriously.

Somehow, the key is having your comfort zone outside your comfort zone. Becoming addicted to learning.

Obviously, this momentum is likely to dissipate with the age (i've spent summers on books, something i wouldn't do again), and 10 years ago there was not so much pressure on young engineers (which, somehow, now are all expected to become revolutionary enterpreuners at 20 something). But i think that the main rule still applies: let the fear diappear by enjoying what you're learning.

As Alex said, there is no point in this path where you realize you know all is needed. Actually, that's what you should fear the most.

In conclusion: no fear. Just play along if you like it.

EDIT: I just want to add some more practical suggestions (what you actually asked). This worked well for me 10+ years ago:

- use Amazon and the book section of this site to realize which books are the most prominent in the field. At some point you will realize which ones are better suited for you, but you need to start somewhere.
- start getting involved in something so that you can start exploring journal references for that specific application. Journal papers are your best friends in several aspects, and getting good in managing references helped me a lot.
- programming is best learned with practice. But, starting serious programming before you have a clear view of the subject is not productive in my opinion
- major CFD commercial codes come with guides and tutorials which are also very helpful (especially the Fluent ones). This is something people tend to overlook but, in the end, understanding how a professional, multipurpose CFD code works in each single aspect (to the point of being yourself able to implement it) is somehow representative of the final goal of a CFD career. So using their guides, literally, as guides had a lot of sense for me (and pretty much worked).

Still, remember that you are not expected to learn everything in advance. If you are mastering in CFD, i expect that someone will teach you something along the way.