Overview
This course comprises three distinct but overlapping modules:
- Incompressible fluid mechanics
- Thermodynamics
- Compressible fluid mechanics
This course has three papers. It also has a series of example papers that students are encouraged to attempt. Problems from these example papers will be discussed during the recitation session.
Grading
This course has three papers, a final exam, and a coding assignment. The grades are given below:
Assignment | Grade percentage (%) |
---|---|
Paper 1: Incompressible fluid mechanics | 20 |
Paper 2: Thermodynamics | 20 |
Paper 3: Compressible fluid mechanics | 20 |
Coding assignment | 15 |
Final exam (take-home) | 25 |
Lectures
This is a preliminary schedule; it may change throughout term. The suggested readings below are completely optional. The slide decks provided below are partially complete; it is the student’s responsibility to attend lectures and complete these slides. That said, as time goes on, incomplete notes will be swapped with complete decks.
If you have previously taken AE2010/AE2011 and would like the completed slides, please email the instructor.
Incompressible fluid mechanics
01.09: L1. Course introduction | Slides | NotebookContents
- Difference between fluid mechanics and thermodynamics.
- Properties of fluids vs solids.
- Forces in fluids.
- Brief introduction to Jupyter notebooks (covering
python
andlatex
).
Contents
- Basic equations
- Pressure as a function of depth.
- Barometers and manometers.
- Forces on submerged bodies.
- Buoyancy and Archimedes’ principle.
Contents
- Fluid dynamics terminology (streamlines, streaklines, pathlines, stagnation).
- Systems and conservation principles.
- Control volumes.
- Conservation of mass.
- In-class application.
Contents
- Newton’s second law.
- Steady flow momentum equation in 1D.
- Steady flow momentum equation in 2D.
Contents
- Forces on fluid particles.
- Acceleration of a fluid particle.
- Forces and acceleration along streamlines.
- Deriving Bernoulli’s equation
- Understanding a pitot tube.
- Introduction to
lists
andfor
loops.
Contents
- Straight vs. curved streamlines
- Coanda effect.
- Magnus effect.
- In-class application.
Contents
- Scalar and vector fields.
- The del operator.
- Advection.
Contents
- Lagrangian vs. Eulerian perspectives
- Shear and viscosity revisited (free slip vs. no slip)
- Couette flow
Contents
- Poiseuille flow
- Combined Couette and Poiseuille flow
Contents
- Loss of pressure along a pipe
- The three pressures (review)
- Overview of Navier-Stokes and Euler equations (not part of Paper I)
02.13: L11. Paper I | Solutions
Thermodynamics
02.15: L12. Thermodynamics: Introduction and the first law | Slides | ExamplesContents
- Overview of thermodynamics.
- Molecular thermodynamics vs. classical thermodynamics.
- Properties, systems, and states.
- Thermodynamic equlibrium and the two-property rule.
- Definition of work, heat, and energy.
- General statement of the first law.
02.20: No lecture
02.22: No lecture
02.27: L13. Ideal gases and the first law again | Slides | ExamplesContents
- Brief review of paper I
- Heat transfer
- Cyclic and adiabatic processes.
- Pure substances and phases.
- Enthalpy and specific heat.
- Ideal gas relations.
Contents
- Isobaric, isochoric, and isothermal processes.
- Adiabatic compression.
- Polytropic process.
- Reversible and irreversible processes.
- The Kelvin-Planck and Clausius statements.
- Efficiency.
Contents
- More on reversible and irreversible processes.
- The zeroth law.
- Empirical temperature scales.
- Thermodynamic temperature and its measurement.
- The Clausius inequality.
Contents
- Revisiting the first two laws.
- Definition of entropy.
- Entropy variations for reversible and irreversible processes.
- The Tds equations and entropy of a perfect gas.
Contents
- Entropy changes of isolated systems.
- First Law applied to control volumes.
- Conservation of energy
- Steady flow processes.
03.13: Withdrawal deadline
03.14: L18. Conservation (again) and steady flow | Slides | ExamplesContents
- Tips for control volume analysis.
- Second law applied to control volumes.
- Steady reversible and irreversible flow.
- Throttling processes
- Power output calculations
- Isentropic flow
03.18 - 03.22: Spring break
03.26: L19. Paper II | Solutions
Compressible fluid mechanics
03.28: L20. Variable nozzle flows | Slides | ExamplesContents
- Speed of sound.
- Stagnation temperature.
- Nozzle flows
Contents
- Choked flow.
- Normal shocks.
- Re-visiting variable nozzle flows.
- Supersonic wind tunnels.
Contents
- Stagnation pressure losses.
- Compressible pitot-static tubes.
- Mach cones.
- Oblique shocks.
04.04 Coding assignment issued
04.09: L23. Guest Lecture & Fans | Slides | Guest lectureContents
- Guest Lecture.
- More on oblique shocks.
- Expansion fans.
Contents
- More on oblique shocks. Re-visiting variable nozzle flows (again).
- Impulse functions
- Fanno flow
- Example problems
04.16: L25. Paper III | Solutions
04.18: No lecture
04.20 Coding assignment due
04.23: L27. Rayleigh flows & the Reynolds number | SlidesContents
- Variation of stagnation pressure with heat.
- Acceleration due to heat transfer.
- Rayleigh process.
- Reynolds number and drag.
Lectures and Recitation sessions
Lectures will be held at:
Location | Time |
---|---|
FST 1205 | Tuesdays 8:25am - 10:20am |
FST 1205 | Thursdays 8:25am - 10:20am |
Recitation sessions will be held at:
Location | Time |
---|---|
GU 442 | Thursdays 6:30pm - 7:45pm |
The recitation sessions are mandatory as are the lectures.
Office hours
Professor Seshadri’s office hours:
Location | Time |
---|---|
MK 421 | Thursdays 12:30pm - 2:00pm |
UTA John Stafford’s office hours are:
Location | Time |
---|---|
Lowey Library MK 3rd floor | Wednesdays 1:45pm to 3:15pm |
ED Dashboard
Given that the registration comprises two different courses (2010 & 2011), I will do my best to communicate the threads between them. The links below should take you to the dashboards.
References
The material in this course follows a similar trajectory to other courses, detailed below:
- Engineering Tripos Part 1A (Cambridge)
- Engineering Tripos Part 2A (Cambridge)
- Engineering Tripos Part 3A (Cambridge)
- Course 16 Unified Thermodynamics and Propulsion (MIT)
- Prior AE2010/AE2011 Notes (Georgia Tech)
Useful textbooks
Although not mandatory, below you will find a list of useful textbooks for this course.
- John Anderson, (2023) Fundamentals of Aerodyanmics, Seventh Edition, McGraw-Hill.
- Michael Boles and Yunus Çengel, (2010) Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach, McGraw-Hill.
- Snorri Gudmundsson, (2013) General Aviation Aircraft Design, Butterworth-Heinemann.