Encyclopedia of Fluid Mechanics

This book was developed using material from teaching courses on fluid mechanics, high-speed flows, aerodynamics, high-enthalpy flows, experimental methods, aircraft design, heat transfer, introduction to engineering, and wind engineering. It precisely presents the theoretical and application aspects of the terms associated with these courses. It explains concepts such as cyclone, typhoon, hurricane, and tornado, by highlighting the subtle difference between them. The text comprehensively introduces the subject vocabulary of fluid mechanics for use in courses in engineering and the physical sciences.

This book
• Presents the theoretical aspects and applications of high-speed flows, aerodynamics, high-enthalpy flows, and aircraft design.
• Provides a ready reference source for readers to learn essential concepts related to flow physics, rarefied, and stratified flows.
• Comprehensively covers topics such as laser Doppler anemometer, latent heat of fusion, and latent heat of vaporisation.
• Includes schematic sketches and photographic images to equip the reader with a better view of the concepts.

This is ideal study material for senior undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, flow physics, civil engineering, automotive engineering, and manufacturing engineering.

Ethirajan Rathakrishnan is professor of Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India. He is well known internationally for his research in the area of high-speed jets. The limit for the passive control of jets, called the Rathakrishnan Limit, is his contribution to the field of jet research, and the concept of breathing blunt nose (BBN), which simultaneously reduces the positive pressure at the nose and increases the low pressure at the base is his contribution to drag reduction at hypersonic speeds. Positioning the twin-vortex Reynolds number at around 5000, by changing the geometry from cylinder, for which the maximum limit for the Reynolds number for positioning the twin-vortex was found to be around 160, by von Karman, to flat plate, is his addition to vortex flow theory. He has published a large number of research articles in many reputed international journals. He is a Fellow of many professional societies including the Royal Aeronautical Society. Rathakrishnan serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the International Review of Aerospace Engineering (IREASE) and International Review of Mechanical Engineering (IREME) journals.

He has authored the following books: Gas Dynamics, 7th ed. (PHI Learning, New Delhi, 2020); Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics, 2nd ed. (PHI Learning, New Delhi, 2005); Fluid Mechanics: An Introduction, 4th ed. (PHI Learning, New Delhi, 2022); Gas Tables, 3rd ed. (Universities Press, Hyderabad, India, 2012); Theory of Compressible Flows (Maruzen Co., Ltd. Tokyo, Japan, 2008); Gas Dynamics Work Book, 2nd ed. (Praise Worthy Prize, Napoli, Italy, 2013); Elements of Heat Transfer (CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, 2012); Theoretical Aerodynamics (John Wiley, New Jersey, USA, 2013); High Enthalpy Gas Dynamics (John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2015); Dynamique Des Gaz (Praise Worthy Prize, Napoli, Italy, 2015); and Instrumentation, Measurements and Experiments in Fluids, 2nd ed. (CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, 2017), Helicopter Aerodynamics, (PHI Learning, New Delhi, 2019); Applied Gas Dynamics 2nd ed. (John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2019); Introduction to Aerospace Engineering : Basic Principles of Flight, Wiley, (New Jercy, 2021); Japan, (Praise Worthy Prize, Napoli, Italy, 2021); Mind Power : The Sixth Sense, (Routlege, Taylor and Francis Group, UK, 2022).