Computational Fluid Dynamics
Computational Fluid Dynamics course covering numerical methods for fluid mechanics and heat transfer, emphasizing finite difference and volume techniques for boundary layers and various flow regimes.
Summary
Past student reviews · Mario Trujillo
Students should be prepared for serious math, as the curriculum teaches fundamentals and demonstrates the importance of the mathematics through coding.
What you’ll be able to do
Apply and solve numerical approximations to partial differential equations (PDEs), principally those consisting of the standard forms for elliptic, hyperbolic, and parabolic problems
Discretize and solve incompressible fluid mechanics and heat transfer problems
Analyze and eradicate sources of numerical stability issues in standard PDEs
Analyze and reduce numerical error
Apply numerical knowledge to individual projects
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapM E 363, or graduate/professional standing, or member of Engineering Guest Students
- ME 363
- graduate/professional standing
- member of Engineering Guest Students
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Any of
- ME 363
- graduate/professional standing
- member of Engineering Guest Students
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
CHRISTOPHER RUTLAND is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
MARIO TRUJILLO is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Past student reviews · Mario Trujillo
The course is not a typical CFD class; it teaches fundamentals and demonstrates the importance of mathematics through coding rather than using software like ANSYS or OpenFoam.
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.16 GPA, 36.4% A/AB (n=22 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.33 GPA, 69.6% A/AB (n=23 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.47 GPA, 56.2% A/AB (n=16 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Past student reviews · Mario Trujillo
Students should be prepared for serious math, as the curriculum teaches fundamentals and demonstrates the importance of the mathematics through coding.
Past student reviews · Mario Trujillo
Some students found the grading structure questionable, noting that the final exam carried significant weight without adequate review sessions or practice exams.
Topics
- Boundary layers, incompressible viscous flows, and inviscid compressible flows
- Finite differences and finite volume techniques
- Numerical approximations to elliptic, hyperbolic, and parabolic PDEs
Skills
- Solving numerical approximations to PDEs
- Discretizing and solving incompressible fluid mechanics and heat transfer problems
- Analyzing numerical stability issues
- Reducing numerical error
Grades
Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Fall 2025
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
"model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
"task_version": "17",
"output_id": "89d8f02af5ee296271d01cbfcb5950bce6fa3a7095cdad1da50d03acd5b25eea",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}