Consider performing a
AE216: Fluid Mechanics
Description: The course Fluid Mechanics covers the fundamental principles of fluid mechanics. It brings to you the principles that have ben well-established over years. This course won't give you the feel of aerospace as such, but the tools it equips you with are indispensable for an aerospace engineer.
Credits:
8 (3L-1T-0P-8C)
Prerequisites:
None
Course Contents:
The course covers most of the concepts that would be taught in Basic Fluid Mechanics in any institution across the globe. The instructor for the course has been prof. S.D. Sharma for the past few years and should continue to be so. The pace of the course is generally adjusted by the response he receives in the class, so the topics covered may vary a bit from year to year.
Following is the basic outline of the course:
- Properties of fluid, Statics and Buoyancy. Kinematics of fluid motion; Lagrangian vs. Eulerian description of flow motion, concept of Total Derivative
- Classification of Flows:
- Uniform vs. non-uniform flows,
- Steady vs. Unsteady flows,
- Compressible and Incompressible flows,
- Ideal vs. Real flows
- Potential flow theory; Velocity potential and stream function formulations; Ideal flow past circular cylinder. Euler equation in 1D
- Viscous flow on a flat plate, Boundary layer, displacement and momentum thicknesses, Laminar vs. Turbulent flows, Reynolds number
- Flow examples:
- Flow in a pipe with a focus on boundary layer development and frictional losses
- Flow past cylinder, critical Reynolds numbers (flow past cricket ball)
- Incompressible viscous flow past an airfoil, wakes, types of drags.
- Mach number and its importance in compressible flows
- Introduction to shock waves and calculations involved therein. Normal shock, oblique shock relations, strong, weak and detached shocks
- Flow through variable area nozzle; Converging diverging nozzle, supersonic diffusers, supersonic wind tunnels
- Prandtl Meyer expansion and expansion fans
- Brief discussion on shock reflection, refraction and understanding shock diamonds, interaction of shock and expansion waves. (theoretical)
Motivation:
Fluid Mechanics has a direct application in many fields like Aerospace (flow past bodies), Chemical & Civil (majorly Pipe Flow), Mechanical (pipe flows along with flow past bodies (turbines, compressors)). The course is conducted in such a way that at the end you will be able to predict flow past any body without really doing any calculations. In addition all the following courses require this as an official or unofficial pre-requisite -
- AE 333: Aerodynamics
- AE 312: Aerodynamics Laboratory
- AE 320/706: Computational Fluid Dynamics
- AE 622: High Speed Flow Computing
- AE 624: Hypersonic Flow Theory
AE 651: Aerodynamics of compressors & turbines
- AE 724: Experimental Methods in Fluid Mechanics
Resources:
While it is a good practice to refer to textbooks or video lectures besides your class notes, it is also important to remember that these sources may not be flawless. Reference material should only be used as a tool to strengthen concepts and not as a substitute for your class notes.
Text Books:
Since this is an introductory course any book on fluid mechanics from the library is good enough. There is no good or bad book. Select a book you feel comfortable reading. Generally referred books are listed below:
- 1.Fluid Mechanics by F.M. White
2.Fluid Mechanics by P.K. Kundu & I.M. Cohen 3.Mechanics of Fluids by I.H. Shames
4.Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics by B.R. Munson, D.F. Young & T.H. Okiishi
Internet Resources:
Tip: Start of with wikipedia.org for very basic explanation and then try to figure out good resources from the references given at the end of that page.