Customer Reviews

Fluid Mechanics, Third Edition

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Pijush Kundu's textbook has established itself as the standard in introductory fluid mechanics. While most fluid dynamics texts are based around engineering, this book is an excellent cross section for scientists hoping to gain a thorough intuition about the subject. In addition, the first few chapters offer intuitive explanations of such vector operators as div and curl. The idea of curl was a complete mystery to me until I read Kundu's explanation of vorticity. This book is a must have for any applied scientist working in the physical world.

As a master in mechanical engineer, and working with technical education, I had studied most of the more popular textbooks on fluid mechanics before, and get used not to expect many from "new" textbooks on the subject.

Although, when I came across this book, it was a little surprise. The text is very well written, and includes many advanced and interesting topics not found in other popular textbooks. It gives emphasis to qualitative explanation, and does not overwhelm you with lots of mathematics. The approach to subjects is very clever, insightful and meaningful.

I dare to say it renewed my pleasure in reading, studying and teaching fluid mechanics. Thanks and congratulations to Professor Kundu.

I like this book much more than Fay or White or Batchelor.
I used it in a graduate course on fluid mechanics - I wish I had used it in my undergrad classes - I would have understood the material much better.

This is one of the best introductory books from outside the engineering community that can be used by beginners. I learned the basic equations of fluid dynamics by self-study from chapters 3-4. Chapter 3 is an excellent discussion of kinematics, taking time to carefully examine the various components of the strain rate tensor (although I prefer to call it the deformation tensor): this important topic is often ignored in other texts. Chapter 4 gives the derivation of the conservations laws (mass, momentum, and energy balance; angular momentum and entropy) including the corresponding forms for a rotating frame of reference. The development of the basic equations in Chs. 3-4 is systematic and very appealing to someone with a physics background.

The other chapters are: Vorticity Dynamics, Irrotational flow, Gravity waves, Dynamic similarity, Laminar flow, Boundary layers, Instability, Turbulence, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Aerodynamics, and Compressible Flow. Quite a range of material, all in one place. Overall, one of the best introductory books that I've seen.

Cohen and Kundu did a commendable job in coming up with a book that provides an excellent foundation in fluid mechanics. This should be the first book on the shelf for anyone seeking a comprehensive coverage of fluid mechanics which is readable, well organized and easy to follow. The novice and the expert will find the book useful, helpful and handy.

Although there are some few minor errors in the book, these do little to detract from a very enlightening and student-friendly textbook.

This book is amazing. While accessible to anyone with a basic knowledge of physics, it is nonetheless a complete introduction to the science of fluid mechanics. It manages to give clear, complete explanations of concepts, while avoiding much of the tedious algebra and dry style of, say, Batchelor. Don't get me wrong though--Kundu is not lacking in rigor. As a first text to learn fluid mechanics from, to my knowledge, Kundu has no equal.

This book is very comprehensive and covers all of the major aspects of fluid mechanics. However, there are several mistakes in this book. Some of the problem solutions are wrong, but above all, the equations are often referenced incorrectly. This can make it quite frustrating for students, especially when they haven't figured out that they are being misled.

This book is not a great resource for a student. There are few examples, and the exercises at the end of each chapter are short and not very diverse. The exercises also have no solutions, not a big deal but the text has few examples.

If you just need a reference this book is ok, but please don't teach from it!

I bought this book for a class in geophysical fluid dynamics. I have only a little background in fluid mechanics, but I have some experience with partial differential equations and tensor math (mostly electromagnetics). If you are light on tensor math and physics, this is NOT the book to start with. There are other books in tensor math you will need to read and work problems in first. PDEs are a prerequisite, too, so don't take this book lightly.

There is a very good review of tensor math and PDEs in the first chapter and appendices, but you will probably need additional references. The problems are challenging, and they range from easy to quite difficult. The math in this book also has a tendency to be terse, but not too sparse (and the author doesn't use the typical math book cliches, 'left as an exercise' or 'proof is trivial').

The chapters cover quite a few topics, from basic fluid motion, Newtonian and Eulerian flow, and turbulence and Reynolds numbers, to a few advanced topics like blood flow in biological systems. This book would be excellent as a reference, since the chapters are well organized, generally thorough and up-to-date. I plan to keep it on my shelf next to my physics and electromagnetics handbooks when I finish my GFD course.

P. Kundu does an amazing job presenting the fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. His review of vector and tensor calcus is second to none. Not only does he cover the basics, such as the Navier-Stokes equation, but he adds interesting chapters on other relavent topics as well, such as gravity waves. Truly a fluid mechanics bible!