In line with the strategic objective of the University to carry out research that is more application oriented, the Research Centre for Flow-Induced Vibration and Vibro-Acoustics(FIV & VA) was set up to perform research in the areas of flow vibration, noise and their control. The objectives of FIV & VA are to seek understanding of the fundamentals of flow-induced vibration and vibro-acoustics through experimental, numerical and theoretical studies and postgraduate training, and to apply such knowledge to resolve problems that are germane to Hong Kong. Some of these problems are urban noise generated by modern appliances, construction site machines and pilings, and structural design of tall buildings and large structures. In particular, the emphasis is on the application aspects that required interdisciplinary investigations and have found fruitful results with significance in academic contribution and industrial application.

The Centre consists of staff members from Mechanical Engineering (ME), Building Services Engineering (BSE), Civil and Structural Engineering (CSE) and Electrical Engineering (EE) within PolyU and from Civil Engineering (CE) of HKU and HKUST. Currently, there are 31 CERG projects and 10 central allocation projects on-going within the Centre and they cover six areas; (1) Fundamentals of FIV/FSI, (ii) Numerical code development, (iii) Application to 3-D structures, (iv) vibro-acoustics, (v) large-scale experiments and (vi) small-scale experiments. Based on the expertise and facilities available in each department and institution, the work under (i) and (ii) is carried out mainly by ME, that of (iii) and (v) by CSE, HKU and HKUST, that of (iv) by ME and BSE, and that of (vi) by ME and HKU. In addition, the Centre has won Group Research Award from UGC in February 2003. The research topic is Flow Structure Interaction and Noise Control. The funding for this project is $4 million with a matching fund of another million from PolyU. The project will concentrate on the development of commercial products with minimum noise generated and on means to control vibration of large scale structures. Indeed, the Centre is carrying out its mission of doing research that is germane to Hong Kong.