Aerodynamics textbook at the graduate physics level

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around recommendations for graduate-level textbooks on aerodynamics, particularly with a focus on aircraft. Participants share their familiarity with various texts and express their needs for self-study resources in the field of aerodynamics, considering their background in physics and fluid dynamics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks recommendations for a good textbook on aerodynamics, specifically for aircraft, and mentions their background in physics and fluid dynamics.
  • Another participant suggests contacting forum experts on fluid dynamics for specific book recommendations.
  • A participant lists three textbooks they have found: "Fundamentals of Aerodynamics" by J. Anderson, "Theoretical Aerodynamics" by Ethirajan Rathakrishnan, and "Theoretical and Applied Aerodynamics" by J.J. Chattot & M.M. Hafez, noting their perceived levels and content focus.
  • One participant expresses familiarity with Anderson's book, describing it as more geared toward undergraduates but with broad coverage of the topic. They also mention another book, "Bertin and Cummings," as a good option.
  • A participant advises caution in selecting graduate-level content without a solid understanding of undergraduate material, suggesting a focus on general aerodynamics knowledge.
  • The original poster expresses a preference for books that emphasize equations and seeks clarification on which of the recommended texts might align with that preference.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the need for foundational knowledge in undergraduate material before diving into graduate-level texts. However, there are differing opinions on the suitability of the recommended textbooks, particularly regarding their complexity and focus.

Contextual Notes

Participants have not reached a consensus on which textbook is definitively the best choice, and there are varying opinions on the appropriateness of the suggested texts based on the original poster's background and goals.

TOAsh2004
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Hello,

Can someone recommend me a good textbook to (self-)study aerodynamics, optimally with focus on aircrafts. I am a graduated student in physics and therefore familiar with all the basic concepts of fluiddynamics and calculus. But, apart from that, I have no further knowledge in the field of aerodynamics.
Thanks in advance.

Greetings
 
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@boneh3ad and @Chestermiller are experts on Fluid dynamics in these forums maybe they can recommend you a specific book for aerodynamics.
 
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Thanks a lot,

Ill contact them.

Greetings
 
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TOAsh2004 said:
Ill contact them.
No, we discourage unsolicited PMs. Just wait for them to get the notification from the tags that @Delta2 posted. Thanks.
 
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Ok, sorry, I'll remember it for the future.
 
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TOAsh2004 said:
Ok, sorry, I'll remember it for the future.
No worries. :smile:

Can you say what textbooks you have found so far that seem like good candidates? Often you can find them on Amazon and use the "Look Inside" feature to see the Table of Contents and sometimes a few excerpts to see if they look good for your purpose.
 
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Sure,

the first one was the "Fundamentals of Aerodynamics" by J. Anderson: https://www.amazon.de/dp/1259129918/ which was recommended in different places, but looks more like undergraduated stuff.

The second one was the "Theoretical Aerodynamics" by Ethirajan Rathakrishnan, this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1118479343/?tag=pfamazon01-20 . It looks more advanced (it also says it is for advanced undergraduated and graduated students) and makes a good impression, but it also seems to have a huge section on basics of fluiddynamics, which ist already known to me and which I cannot see in the "look inside" and therefore don't know on which level it is written.

The third an last one was "Theoretical and applied aerodynamics" by J.J. Chattot & M.M. Hafez, this one: https://www.amazon.de/dp/9401798249/ . That one looks very fitting to me, since it seems to have in-depth treatment of the advanced theoretical stuff as well as the connection to application (numerics). Also, the authors say its written for first year graduate students. But, it only has one rating and no customer reviews, so I don't really know if its considered a good textbook.

Thats what I had found so far.
 
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Of the three you've found so far the only one I'm familiar with is Anderson. It is definitely more geared toward undergraduates but will have the broadest coverage of the topic. Bertin and Cummings is also good but similar.

I'm a little hesitant to suggest too much "graduate" content if you don't have a solid footing in undergraduate material if your goal is is more general aerodynamics/aircraft knowledge. If you're wanting a deeper dive into fluid physics and less of the nuts and bolts then that might make more sense.
 
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Thanks for the advice! So I guess I'll go with Anderson or Cummings since indeed my main goal is a general aerodynamics knowledge, especially with regards to aircraft. Since I generally prefer books focussing a bit more on equations, is there one of those two of which you would say this is the case?
 

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