CFD or experimental?
 

Hi!
I'm a master's student in fluid mechanics and I am about to start my thesis soon. I have received two offers in industry, one on PIV and one on CFD. I've done CFD previously and I've also done some hotwire measurements in wind tunnels as well. I'm a bit unsure of what to choose, I like the CFD field more but it might be good to have some experience in experimental fluid mechanics aswell.

What are your opinions?

I think Experimental option is better when compared to CFD. CFD can be learnt or implemented any time but PIV set-up needs lots of funds and missing an opportunity is not a good idea.

While this is a good advice and a valid point, I would suggest going with what interests you most. In case you want to do a PhD afterwards, it is important to truly find out what can keep you motivated and interested for 5+ years.

I'm not planning to pursue a PhD but looking to work in industry. Here's the dilemma. I mainly want to work with CFD as a main tool, how is the balance in industry, does the majority of fluids people work with CFD or is it 50/50? Would having 6 months of CFD-ing or 6 months of experimental studies give me an advantage when looking for CFD jobs?

That was a lot of questions:)

It is not an easy choice but choosing one doesn't mean excluding the other. You can start with experimental and then move to CFD. From my experience, doing the other way around is a little bit more difficult.

We all know what are the main advantages of CFD or Wind tunnel testing in terms of accuracy and final results.

In terms of working environment, the wind tunnel is more tiring under a physical point of view and doesn't give you a clear overview of the flow. CFD is more tiring under a mental point of view and it involves spending lots of hours sitting at a desk.

Then anyways everything also depends on what your application will be both for the WT or CFD.