Customer Reviews

Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, 5th Edition

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I used this textbook for a few years when teaching a course in heat and mass transfer. The heat transfer parts are some of the best I've seen. Very clear explanations and great diagrams. The mass transfer material is not all that great. The authors are mechanical engineers but mass transfer is really the domain of chemical engineers. They're not as often clear (or even totally correct) in the mass transfer sections. There used to be a heat transfer only version of this textbook which might be a better buy. For mass transfer I would use any established chemical engineering textbook.

This is an excellent text for the heat transfer novice, both as a supplement to a class and as a personal teaching tool. The writing is easy to understand, and the chapters are arranged logically. The examples are well chosen and usually demonstrate how the theory and equations can be put to good use.

I have only two complaints about this text: There are far too few sample problems (and no problems with only answers provided) and the mass transfer is not taught in a useful way. The prior is a failure of many text books, but the latter is a major drawback. Incropera and Dewitt basically say "Mass transfer is the same as heat transfer, except use these units and equations." All of the mass transfer is tucked into a few chapters, as if it was an afterthought.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the fundamentals of heat transfer, but look elsewhere for a useful introduction to mass transfer.

This is the best all around book on heat transfer I have come across. I have owned the 3rd edition for nearly 10 years and refer to it almost daily in my job (doing heat transfer and fluid flow analysis for a semiconductor equipment company). The theory is clearly explained and well illustrated by many worked examples. The extensive tables of thermal properties in the back are nearly worth the price themselves. I don't think the serious student of heat transfer can go wrong with this book.

I thought this book covered conduction and convection heat transfer well, but I thought a better job could have been done on the section about radiation heat transfer. Perhapes more examples of radiation problems could have been used to make the subject more clear. I thought the mass transfer sections were well written and easy to understand. The solution guide to the problems are not available to the students. As with all engineering books, I think the solution guides should be available to the students to promote quicker and more efficient learning.

This is probably the most popular heat transfer textbook for mechanical engineers and with good reason. Material is presented quite clearly and the concepts are presented in an orderly fashion. The authors do not go too deeply into detail so they don't confuse those just learning the basics.

There are good reference lists at the ends of the chapters; this could be used by those wishing to learn more. The materials reference is relatively complete and is, surprisingly, fairly easy to read compared to many properties lists.

That said, this book should be updated with more recent applications including those from the electronics packaging field. The section on numerical methods is quite weak and there is no discussion of recent technological advances in heat transport. There probably should be more material added in the heat exchanger/heat sink area for the book to stay relevant to modern problems.

I think this is a good reference that you can pull off the shelf years later when you forget some of the basics.

This textbook is one of the best I've ever used. Incropera and DeWitt do a great job of explaining convection, conduction, and radiation. I have heard that the mass transfer portion of the book is lacking however, I am an ME major so its not an issue. The covering of conduction is especially good, it goes into great detail math wise although its well presented so you don't have to be a mathematical wizard to follow along. The book goes into a little bit of heat exchanger design, not very much but its a good introduction. If your instructor requires this book for your heat transfer class consider yourself very fortunate.

Dear fellow readers: The subject of mass and heat transfer is very involved, and it has applications in many industrial processes. This book starts with a very fundamental explanation of heat transfer. The introduction seems to be from a grade ten science class, hence it is easily understood. As the chapters develop, other concepts such as thermodynamics, solids, and fluids come in to discussion. For this reason I recommend that any one who wishes to read this book, have a firm grasp on these subjects. These sections are far and few in between, so a reader can further develop their understanding with out much difficulty. As the title states the book is about both heat and mass transfer. It is interesting to note that, although these subjects are fundamentally different the calculations are very similar thanks to dimensionless numbers. The book does a very good job of explaining and relating these topics to each other. In my personal opinion, if there is one book that should be bought that encompasses these subjects, and can be used as a reference in the future, this book is my preferred choice.

Well written concepts in the fundementals of heat transfer with a prefernce toward applications in the electronic field. Section on internal & external flow very good primer for other more advanced texts (ie; Convection - Kays & Crawford or Boudary Layer Theory - Schlichting)

The book is very useful for students or engineers who want to have a heat and mass transfer book at hand. I am a student and want to find a good book about heat and mass transfer, after buying this book using a discount from coupons-center.com and used it for 3 months, I found this book is very helpful when I am studying. It not only teaches you the basic knowledge, but also list a lot of good examples which are easily understood. I learned a lot from this book.

I honestly didn't enjoy this book when I was in school, but now working as a mechanical engineer in the chemical sector, I can honestly say that this book is worth its weight in gold. If you're ever going to solve real problems (tube exchangers, tube bundle cross flow), then this is the book you need to keep on your shelf. Even if solving complex problems, the book can give you basic theory for which you to expand on with more accurate models. I'd recommend to any chemical, mechanical or electric engineer that needs to deal with heat transfer. If you're a student, then pay extra attention, because the theories in this book pop up daily.