Professor Wu’s research is primarily in modelling and simulation of fluid/structure interactions problems in the context of engineering applications, based on the finite element method, finite volume method, finite difference method, boundary element method, lattice Boltzmann method as well as many other methods. The principal applications of the work are (1) naval architecture, (2) coastal, offshore & deep-water engineering, (3) renewable energy, (4) polar engineering. 

     Professor Wu has been the chair of the joint research centre on deep-water challenges, involving UCL, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Harbin Engineering University. The centre has trained many dozens of PhD and MSc students supervised by over a dozen professors, and has been supported by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation which owns the commercial company Lloyd’s Register (LR), one of leading classification societies in the world. The research covers a wide range of topics in naval architecture, ocean engineering and polar engineering. In addition to the cutting-edge research on some fundamental and challenging problems in engineering, the focus has been on applying the research to improve design, protect the environment, enhance safety and reduce cost. One of the applications was to optimisation of the structural design of a ship built at the end of 2016 by Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co. Ltd., based on the newest rules of the International Association of Classification Societies, whose members include LR.

The novel trimaran concept was pioneered at UCL in the 1990s. Professor Wu developed methods and codes for its simulation in collaboration with QinetiQ. His research with QinetiQ has also been used to improve the manoeuvrability and controllability of underwater vehicles at periscope depth.

     Professor Wu has published extensively in JFM and Roy. Soc. Some of his publications in Physics of Fluids have been chosen as “Best Papers" of the journal or recommended as "Editors’ Pick".

     Many of novel methods developed by Professor Wu and the results obtained have made a major impact in industry. An example is the development of the commercial code Hydro-Star by Bureau Veritas. The author of that code stated (23rd  Symposium on Naval Hydrodynamics) “…the author is greatly indebted to Professor Wu Guo Xiong … for providing comprehensive data … which have been critically useful in the development of computer codes.”

     The research output was also used in the development and verification of the computer code by the American Bureau of Shipping (JSR, Vol. 51).

     Professor Wu has also been recognized as a pioneer in applying the finite element to nonlinear hydrodynamic problems, for example in work by authors from Denmark, Sweden as well as MIT in the USA (JCP, Vol. 318) who stated that “The use of FEM for fully nonlinear water waves was pioneered by Wu & Eatock Taylor (1994).”

     More recently, Professor Wu has led a collaboration on polar engineering. Several novel methods and a commercial computer code have been developed to assess the hydrodynamic performance of a ship in the ocean covered by ice sheets (JFM, 2020, Vol.886; JCP, 2020, Vol.412), which have been used by shipyards.