Fluid Mechanics

Abstract

Fluid mechanics deals with the flow of fluids and has direct applications in industrial-scale engineering. Aerospace engineers may apply fluid mechanics in the design of planes, civil engineers may do so for fluid distribution systems, while mechanical and chemical engineers may find relevance in areas such as the design of processing equipment (e.g., turbines and heat exchangers) and optimization of processing methods. This chapter offers a thorough walk-through on solutions to problems presented which include Couette flow, Poiseuille flow and creeping flow patterns, micro and macro-level analysis of flow dynamics using Bernoulli’s equation, continuity equation and Navier–Stokes equations, as well as applications of various coordinate systems (e.g., cylindrical and spherical) and approximation methods (e.g., lubrication approximation) to model flow situations. The practice problems in this chapter are challenging but can be effectively learnt with the help of accompanying visuals and diagrams that will aid visualization of flow systems and understanding of their related analysis.