Computational fluid dynamics is also based on breaking up a component or structure into a set of control volumes. For each control volume equations will be set up to describe the flow of fluid (liquid or gas).The spread of fire or the cooling of a turbine blade by compressor air, can be modelled.

The technique has been in use since the 1960s, initially in the large aerospace companies.

With the reduced cost of computer hardware and software, the usage of computational fluid dynamics has increased greatly in the last ten years. This has reduced the need for some wind tunnel testing and accelerated the production of solutions to design problems involving fluid flow.

In forensic investigations of fire disasters, such as that at King's Cross and the Piper Alpha platform, the use of computational fluid dynamics to determine the behaviour of fast moving flames has been invaluable and this has owed a lot to developments in the study of aerodynamics.