Customer Reviews

Foundations of Aerodynamics: Bases of Aerodynamic Design

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is one of the best written ones. It covers everything. I own the 1986 edition. It contains everything you need top understand the nature of the fluid flow past a body.It covers airfoils, finite wing, compressible and incompressible flows, shock waves, boundary layers, turbulence. It doesn't mention complex variable methods and Joukowsky transformation, it is true, but it does a very good job in the other tasks. Personally, I think everyone involved in aerodynamics should own it. It is a good introductory to mid-level book as a reference one.

A well written introductory book on aerodynamics . Advanced printing technology also adds to the book`s qualities .However , this is not the book for someone who wants to excel at aerodynamics .Like other more recent books ,It aims for medicore level.For example, there are no expansions of advanced topics for the curious student.Also a subject of practical and historical importance like complex potential & conformal mapping is omitted. Summary : If you are new to Fluid Dynamics ,buy it .If you intend to be a real scientist ,you should look for Karamcheti for the incompressible part ,and Shapiro for the compressible part.

This book discusses more the theory of fluid flow versus the applications of fluid dynamics. I found the derivations to be poorly explained as well as the assumptions used for said derivations. I would recommend this book more towards Math majors interested in fluid dynamics instead of engineering majors because the mathematics required to derive the equations used are typically not taught to standard engineering students.

Although this book leaves out a lot of the derivation material for the equation of continuity and the Gauss Theorem of Divergence, it gets the point across. There isn't a lot of mindless dribble in which the authors try to translate highly mathematical concepts into words... this is avoided most of the time, to the delight of the student.

Some might complain that it doesn't cover such-and-such as much as they want, but remember, the title of the book is "FOUNDATIONS of Aerodynamics." Suck it up!

I have the third edition of this book, which was required reading for many AE students back in 1978. I also have a copy of Anderson's "Introduction to Aerodynamics", which, unfortunately for many, did not became available until 1984. It is superior in depth, breadth, and especially, in pedagogy. Given this, it is hard to recommend Kuethe's book, despite its venerable history. The fact that the publisher has the gall to charge $119 for a PAPERBACK book makes this conclusion that much more sound. Note that "like new" fourth editions (also paperback) are now selling for $10.00 on Amazon.

Although significantly older than this text, I would suggest that readers look for a copy of 'The Aerodynamic Design of Aircraft' by Dietrich Kuchemann (Pergamon, 1976). Although not particularly up to date in terms of the advent of complex CFD methods, Kuchemann's text is an essential summary of the progress of analytical aerodynamics, and it's experimental underpinnings, from Gottingen in the Ludwig Prandtl era, through to the technology of the mid 1970s.