Good textbooks for fluid mechanics and thermodynamics for MechE major?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around recommendations for textbooks in fluid mechanics and thermodynamics for a mechanical engineering major preparing for study abroad. Participants share their preferences and experiences with various textbooks, focusing on the suitability of these resources for an introductory course in fluid mechanics and the foundational knowledge in thermodynamics.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses concern about being at a disadvantage in a fluid mechanics course due to not having completed a thermodynamics course, despite the prerequisites being deemed reasonable.
  • Another participant suggests that the choice of textbooks depends on the specific area of fluid mechanics being studied and the major of the student.
  • A participant describes the fluid mechanics course as math-intensive, covering topics such as hydrostatics, conservation laws, and boundary layers, and mentions interest in books by A.R. Paterson and Frank White.
  • There is a query about which specific Frank White book is being referred to, with a participant affirming the quality of his works.
  • Several textbooks are recommended for thermodynamics, including Cengel and Boles, and Moran and Shapiro, as well as for fluid mechanics, including Fox, McDonald, and Pritchard, and F.M. White's Viscous Fluid Flow.
  • One participant recommends the Cengel and Boles book and the Fox, McDonald, and Pritchard book, noting that White's Viscous Flow is an excellent reference but not suitable as an introductory text.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the quality of certain textbooks but do not reach a consensus on which specific texts are best suited for the introductory fluid mechanics course or the foundational thermodynamics knowledge.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying levels of familiarity with the recommended textbooks, and there is an emphasis on the importance of worked examples and clarity in explanations, which may influence their choices.

Blkmage
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So I'm most likely studying abroad next semester and taking a Fluid Mechanics course. At my home university, the pre-reqs are multivariable calc, diff eq, statics and dynamics, and classical thermodynamics. Abroad, all I need are multivariable and diff eq.

But I'm worried that I might be at a disadvantage since I haven't taken thermo yet. Can you guys recommend me some great textbooks for thermo and fluids? I am very good at learning from textbooks, so long as they have worked out examples and such.

I LOVED the Kleppner and Kolenkow mechanics textbook and used it constantly for an honors mechanics course. On the other hand, I hate when textbooks make huge leaps in logic, especially in the example problems. I had to use the Differential Equations textbook by Polking and it was god awful in this regard.

Anyways, I wanted to read through a thermo book this summer for some intro and maybe get a head start on fluids since I want to be able to enjoy my time abroad next semester.
 
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You won't be disadvantaged. The prerequisites are the way that they are for a reason.

At any rate, the good textbooks depend on what area of fluid mechanics you want to learn and what your major is.
 
I'm a mechanical engineering major and the course is really an intro to fluid mechanics, but it's designed for mechanic engineers and I've heard it's pretty math intensive. The short description is:

"Fundamental concepts; hydrostatics; integral and differential equations of fluid flows; conservation of mass, momentum and energy; dimensional analysis; pipe flow; channel flow and boundary layers. "

I was looking into the book by A.R. Paterson or the one by Frank White, but I'm not sure
 
Which Frank White book? His books are, in general, VERY good. I learned out of Munson, Young an Okiishi.
 
Some great thermo books:

Cengel and Boles, Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach. McGraw-Hill
Moran and Shapiro, Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics. Wiley

Fluids:

Fox, McDonald, and Pritchard. Introduction to Fluid Mechanics. Wiley
F.M. White. Viscous Fluid Flow. McGraw Hill
Panton. Incompressible Fluid Flow.
 
I wold also recommend the Cengel and Boles book and the Fox, McDonald and Pritchard book. I am only familiar with White's Viscous Flow book which is an excellent reference but it is not an intro book.
 

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