Fluid mechanics

Fluid mechanics is an important field of enquiry relevant to research in both the biological and physical sciences. The Royal Society journals Proceedings A, Philosophical Transactions A, Interface and Royal Society Open Science publish research articles, reviews and theme issues in all areas of fluid mechanics.

Seminars

Our fluid mechanics seminar series features research published in the Royal Society journals. Each talk is associated with a recent paper or theme issue, selected by the journal's editors as being particularly innovative or having had significant recent impact. Subscribe to the series.

Latest research

Looking for exciting work in fluid mechanics? Discover top research published by us in recent years.

Phil Trans A Volume 381 Issue 2245 Proceedings A Volume 480 Issue 2290 Royal Society Open Science Vol 5 Issue 5

Philosophical Transactions A theme issues

Proceedings A Special Feature

Perspectives in Geophysical and Astrophysical fluids

Article collections

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Browse all fluid mechanics articles published across the Royal Society journals.

From the archive

Sir George Gabriel Stokes, President of the Royal Society from 1885 to 1890, remains an important figure for physics and applied mathematics; influencing research into fluids, asymptotics, optics, and acoustics. The Philosophical Transactions A issue Stokes at 200 outlines modern research fields that have sprung from his work. His 200th birthday also saw the publication of a review article in Proceedings A presenting the state-of-the-science of terminal fall velocity.

The Royal Society has been publishing scientific articles for over 350 years. Browse the Royal Society Journals Archive for a fascinating insight into the development of science and discover some of the key moments in scientific history.

Conferences

We are hoping to attend the 2nd European Fluid Dynamics Conference, Dublin, Ireland, 26 - 29 August 2025.

Full conference list

Proceedings A

Joe Fernando, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame
Interests: fluid dynamics, environmental flows, oceanography, atmospheric dynamics, hydraulics, urban flows, flow through vegetation, environmental acoustics

Greg Ivey, Oceans Graduate School, The University of Western Australia
Interests: oceanography, environmental fluid mechanics, geophysical fluid mechanics

Colin Meyer, School of Engineering, Dartmouth College
Interests: cryospheric sciences; snow and ice mechanics; glaciology; fluid dynamics; icy satellites

Chris Cantwell, Department of Aeronautics, Imperial College London
Interests: Computational fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic instability, aerodynamics, high-performance computing

Subhasish Dey, Department of Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur
Interests: Fluid mechanics; Hydraulics; Hydrodynamics; Hydrodynamic model; Turbulent flow; Jet flow; Open channel flow; Hydraulically rough flow; River mechanics; River meandering; Sediment transport

Graham Hughes, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London
Interests: environmental fluid mechanics, geophysical fluid dynamics, buoyancy-driven flows, stratified turbulence and mixing, convection, flow energetics, ocean physics

Andrey Kuznetsov, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University
Interests: fluid mechanics, heat transfer, turbulence, convection in porous media

Linda Cummings, Department of Mathematical Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Interests: Fluid dynamics, mathematical modelling, asymptotic methods, non-Newtonian flows, liquid crystals, thin films, industrial mathematics, biological fluid dynamics, free boundary problems, thermal transport, optimization

Anne Juel, School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Manchester
Interests: free surface flows, Drops and bubbles, Wetting, Microfluidics, Instabilities, Nonlinear Dynamics, Yield and Non-Newtonian flows

Laurette Tuckerman, PMMH-CNRS, Sorbonne Université
Interests: computational fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic stability; bifurcation theory, pattern formation; transition to turbulence, spherical, plane, and Taylor-Couette flow, Poiseuille flow; Rayleigh-Benard, Marangoni, and binary fluid convection; Faraday and Eckhaus instabilities

Royal Society Open Science

Dr Susana N. Gomes, University of Warwick
Keywords: Mathematical modelling, control and inference for problems in life and social sciences, as well as fluid dynamics

Dr Peter Stewart, University of Glasgow
Keywords: Mathematical biology and physiology, fluid-structure interaction, soft tissue mechanics, interfacial fluid mechanics, gas-liquid foams

Dr Kenta Ishimoto, Kyoto University
Keywords: Fluid mechanics, biofluid mechanics, complex fluids, low-Reynolds-number flow, biomechanics, biophysics, soft and active matter, swimming, propulsion, stability

Professor Tim K.T. Tse, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Keywords: Wind tunnel modelling, computational fluid dynamics, building aerodynamics, structural dynamics, fluid-structure interaction, wind flow field phenomenological analysis

Professor Laurent Davoust, Grenoble INP - UGA
Keywords: Surface phenomena, liquid metals, electrohydrodynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, microfluidics, electrowetting

Proceedings A publishes research of scientific excellence representing significant advances across the physical sciences including the field of fluid dynamics. Article types include research articles, reviews, invited perspectives, comments and invited replies and evidence synthesis. First published in 1832, the journal archive includes landmark scientific discoveries by Paul Dirac, Erwin Schrödinger and James Clerk Maxwell, making it one of the most important science journals in history.

Philosophical Transactions A publishes high quality theme issues on topics of current importance and general interest within the physical sciences, guest-edited by leading authorities and comprising new research, reviews and opinions from prominent researchers. Each issue aims to create an original and authoritative synthesis, often bridging traditional disciplines, which showcases current developments and provides a foundation for future research, applications and policy decisions. 

Interface publishes cross-disciplinary research transcending the life sciences and physical sciences divide providing a dedicated forum for publication and interaction across scientific boundaries. Articles apply chemistry, engineering, materials science, mathematics and physics to the biological and medical sciences and highlight discoveries in the life sciences of relevance to the physical sciences.

Royal Society Open Science is an open access journal publishing high-quality original research on the basis of objective peer-review. The journal covers the entire range of science and mathematics and allows the Society to publish all the high-quality work it receives without the usual restrictions on scope, length or impact. It welcomes the submission of all high-quality science including articles which may usually be difficult to publish elsewhere, for example, replications or those that include negative findings.