Is CFD fluid mechanics + computer science?

[ramzerimar]

I'm having fluid dynamics classes right now and I'm enjoying it very much (much more than my solid mechanics classes, by the way). Also, I do like programming and computer science, and CFD looks like a very interesting field. I'm developing a real interest for it.

One question for those who are familiar with the field: how much computer science for a CFD engineer? The field is indeed very much mathematically intensive, and I know that C++ is the preferred language for doing CFD computations. I think it would be a very interesting field for me, because I'm interested in all those areas.

 

[Dr Transport]

Yes, it is, to some extent. The programming is more of a numerical flavor than pure OOP. All of the CFD'ers I know are mechanical engineers, not a computer scientist in the bunch. I would say if you have a good year long course in C++, a couple of courses in numerical algorithms and a couple of courses in algorithms and data structures you'd be OK (more like a CS minor than a major).