Basics of Fluid Mechanics

Reviewed by Mike Foster, Professor, George Fox University on 6/19/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 3

There only seemed to be an online version to review.

If I compare this book against introductory undergraduate Fluid Mechanics texts such as Munson et al., Cengel and Cimbala, and Crowe et al., it is not comprehensive. I agree with a previous reviewer that the first few chapters are similar in their coverage, but key topics are missing. Boundary layers, laminar / turbulent / transitional flow, internal and pipe flow, external flow and flow over a flat plate, lift and drag, and open channel flow are not discussed. (In the Front Matter’s “To Do” section, the author indicates that some of these sections will be developed in the future.) In its overall tone and approach, I would say it is similar to the more technical, equation-based approach of Munson et al.

However, in the About the Book section, the author does indicate that the purpose behind this book was to prep students for his Compressible Flow book. “The topic of fluid mechanics was chosen just to fill the introduction chapter to compressible flow.” In this regard, the contents seem to fill the role for which it was designed.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

There were several typos throughout the text. Most the equations seemed correct. A LaTeX interpreter was used on all the pages, and some of the code wasn’t interpreted or a symbol/variable was missing.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 2

As mentioned in the Comprehensiveness section, the first few topics of typical introductory textbooks very briefly introduced and then derivations commence. The relevance/case studies that typical texts provide are not present. The author does move into gas dynamics and multiphase flow (which has a much more thorough introduction than most of the chapters.

Clarity rating: 2

I echo a previous reviewer that undergraduate students learning Fluid Mechanics for the first time would most likely be intimidated by the presentation of this book. The lack of analogies to common experiences or case studies of recent or historical events does not seem to engage the reader.

Consistency rating: 3

The RTT sections (Mass, Momentum, and Energy) seemed to be a great opportunity for the author to provide the reader with a consistent approach to the respective derivations. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Other sections seem relatively consistent in their approach.

Modularity rating: 4

The length of sections are typical for a textbook of this type. However, because of some of the derivations, most of the section could not be reorganized without confusing the reader.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The chapters were in an appropriate order as well as the sections. As for being clear, see my comments above on Clarity and Accuracy.

Interface rating: 3

There were several figures where the font size for the axes titles was very small to the point of being unreadable. Plots were inconsistent in their formatting throughout. Parts of equations and citation were not interpreted correctly. The lack of white space also made the material feel overwhelming.

Grammatical Errors rating: 2

There were a multitude of grammar and spelling errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Since the presentation was heavily equation/derivation based and analogies to common experiences or case studies of recent or historical events were not included, the presentation is relatively neutral toward cultural relevance.

In the "About the Book" section, the author makes some bold statements: "In writing the chapter on fluid statics, there was a realization that it is the best chapter written on this topic." "With all the above, it must be emphasized that this book is not expected to revolutionize the field but change some of the way things are taught."

I appreciate the author's confidence and there might be some truth of the second statement in his overall approach of reaching back to thermodynamics and then continuing beyond to multiphase flows. Unfortunately, the bridge between these areas is weak, though, with time and continued revisions, the author may develop the text to a point for larger consumption.