Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics

Computational Hydrodynamics for a Sustainable Future

In an era characterized by accelerating climate change and increasing awareness of ecological preservation, the hydrodynamic study is at a critical evolutionary juncture. Traditional engineering paradigms are increasingly shifting towards "green" interventions, as water resources, ecosystem stability, and energy security become more interconnected and the conventional hard-engineered solutions prove vulnerable to environmental volatility. Consequently, computational hydrodynamics has increasingly emerged as a fundamental predictive tool necessary for designing resilient infrastructure and investigating the intricate dynamics of complex natural systems. This Article Collection, "Computational Hydrodynamics for a Sustainable Future," aims to aggregate pioneering research that utilizes advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to advance global sustainability. By synthesizing innovative numerical frameworks with practical environmental and energy-related applications, this collection provides a strategic roadmap for the next generation of sustainable endeavors, especially in hydraulic, coastal, and offshore engineering.

 The significance of this collection lies in its focus on the non-linear and high-dimensional complexities inherent in the hydrodynamic systems—such as multiscale turbulence, complex boundary conditions in natural habitats, and the coupling of disparate physical processes, which are difficult to capture using traditional methods. As the world transitions to a low-carbon economy, high-fidelity simulations are essential to optimize the extraction of renewable energy in various hydro-environments, including hydropower, wave, and tidal energy. Furthermore, this research is vital for the development of "nature-based" solutions that replace the traditional "gray" infrastructure with more ecologically integrated designs. Ultimately, the collection prioritizes manuscripts that demonstrate numerical novelties alongside clear engineering applications that directly contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

This Article Collection invites high-quality original research and comprehensive reviews centered on three interconnected pillars of computational hydrodynamics:

• Nature-Based Flow Solutions: Modeling flow-vegetation interactions, wetland restoration, and eco-hydraulic structures (e.g., fish passages).
• Energy and Resource Innovation: Optimization of hydropower and offshore renewable energy generation and consumption, and the mitigation of environmental impacts from deep-sea mining.
• Multi-physical and Coupled Flows: High-fidelity simulations of air-water interface dynamics, surface-subsurface flow coupling, water flow and entrained solid particle coupling, and the integration of biogeochemical cycles into hydrodynamic models.

Keywords: Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Sustainable Hydrodynamics, Nature-Based Solutions, Renewable Energy, Coupled Multi-physical Flows

­­All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 30 December 2026.

Please contact Hang Ke at [email protected] with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.

Please be sure to select the appropriate Article Collection from the drop-down menu in the submission system.

Dongfang Liang is a full professor of the University of Cambridge. He graduated in hydraulic engineering from Tsinghua University in China (BEng in 1998 and PhD in 2003). His PhD project involved the measurement of shallow water flows using the large-scale PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) and PLIF (Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence) techniques. He then widened his research experience by concentrating on numerical methods while working at the University of Western Australia and Cardiff University, both as a research associate. He joined the University of Cambridge in late 2006.

Dong Xu is a full professor of Hydraulics and River Dynamics at Hohai University, also a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow (IIF) of the European Union. He was awarded a PhD degree in Port, Coastal and Offshore Engineering by Tianjin University in 2006. His research interests are computational model development and applications in hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and river dynamics.

Chunning Ji is a full professor of computational fluid dynamics at Tianjin University, China. He was awarded a PhD degree in Port, Coastal and Offshore Engineering by Tianjin University in 2006. He has a broad research interest, e.g., computational fluid dynamics, fluid-structure interaction, multi-phase flow, sediment transport in an open channel, vortex-induced vibration of marine risers, marine current energy harnessing, computational bio-fluids, etc.