Turbulence: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers [Paperback]

P. A. Davidson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 019852949X | ISBN-13: 978-0198529491 | Publication Date: July 8, 2004

Based on a course by the author at the University of Cambridge, this comprehensive text on turbulence and fluid dynamics is aimed at year 4 undergraduates and graduates in applied mathematics, physics and engineering and provides an ideal reference for industry professionals and researchers. It bridges the gap between elementary accounts of turbulence found in undergraduate texts and more rigorous accounts given in monographs on the subject. Containing exercises and many examples, the author combines the maximum of physical insight with the minimum of mathematical detail where possible. The text is highly illustrated throughout, and includes color plates; all required mathematical techniques are covered in extensive appendices. The text is divided into three parts: Part I consists of a traditional introduction to the classical aspects of turbulence, the nature of turbulence, and the equations of fluid mechanics. Mathematics is kept to a minimum, presupposing only an elementary knowledge of fluid mechanics and statistics. Part II tackles the problem of homogeneous turbulence with a focus on numerical methods. Part III covers certain special topics rarely discussed in introductory texts. Many geophysical and astrophysical flows are dominated by the effects of body forces, such as buoyancy, Coriolis and Lorentz forces. Moreover, certain large-scale flows are approximately two-dimensional and this has led to a concerted investigation of two-dimensional turbulence over the last few years. Both the influence of body forces and two-dimensional turbulence are discussed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The author's lucid approach puts the reader right in the front seat. Davidson's book is highly recommended for its ability to capture the fundamental naure of turbulence in the first three chapters."--CHOICE

"...[T]his is a very readable book, and the mathematics should be well within the capacity of a graduate engineer or physicist...A reader with time to read it from cover to cover will find the time well spent."--AIAA Journal

"...Davidson presents a thoughtful and detailed discussion of the basic physics of incompressible fluid turbulence. He is careful...in emphasizing the many places where our knowledge about the field is far from certain. For someone who wants to understand the fundamentals of turbulence, this book is a good start."--Physics Today

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

P. A. Davidson is a Reader in Fluid Mechanics at the University of Cambridge. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics and was awarded the Institute of Materials prize in 1996.

Product Details

• Paperback: 678 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019852949X
• ISBN-13: 978-0198529491
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Applied

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book for graduate students, March 10, 2006

By 

J. D. "ravager2928" (Windsor, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Turbulence: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers (Paperback)

This text is well-written and presents a lot of advanced material in relatively short order. However, the mathematics involved are quite advanced and the book is certainly intended only for people with some background in fluids - it is far from an "introductory" text!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, January 21, 2005

By 

Aleksandar (Belgrade, Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Turbulence: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers (Paperback)

This book is really great! The complex things in turbulence are explained in that way I've never seen it before. There are a lot of great figures that are explaining a lot of things - for example, vorticity dynamics is followed with great pictures. Main topic of this book is physical aspect of turbulence, and that's great.

If you're dealing (better to say coping) with turbulence in some way, you should have this book - specially if you're a novice in this area.

9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars what a good book but poor choice in typesetting, September 20, 2006

By 

anonimus (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Turbulence: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers (Paperback)

a book covering many interesting topics and i believe a student of turbulence will be very well-equiped in the basics of modern understandings of turbulence after reading this book. but what a poor page layout. the fonts are small and the book undoubtedly is bulkier because so much space is wasted on the wide margins! i think i had read somewhere that these margins would make the book a good study tools. readers can write on them. what nonsense! they could have just used a conventional layout, save plenty of pages and reading it would be better for my eyes. i can write notes and work out the equations, etc, on some notepad i have. i think it worths minusing two stars for the layout. you can say i judge this book by its font size.