Do we have an adequate understanding of fluid dynamics phenomena in nature and evolution, and what physical models do we need? What can we learn from nature to stimulate innovations in thinking as well as in engineering applications? Concentrating on flight and propulsion, this unique and accessible book compares fluid dynamics solutions in nature with those in engineering. The respected international contributors present up-to-date research in an easy to understand manner, giving common viewpoints from fields such as zoology, engineering, biology, fluid mechanics and physics. This transdisciplinary approach eliminates barriers and opens wider perspectives to both of the challenging questions above. Contents: Applications in Engineering and Medicine; Inspiration from Nature; Steady and Unsteady Fluid Dynamics; Specific Numerical and Experimental Methods

Do we have an adequate understanding of fluid dynamics phenomena in nature and evolution, and what physical models do we need? What can we learn from nature to stimulate innovations in thinking as well as in engineering applications? Concentrating on flight and propulsion, this unique and accessible book compares fluid dynamics solutions in nature with those in engineering. The respected international contributors present up-to-date research in an easy to understand manner, giving common viewpoints from fields such as zoology, engineering, biology, fluid mechanics and physics. Contents: Introduction to Fluid Dynamics; Swimming and Flying in Nature; Generation of Forces in Fluids - Current Understanding; The Finite, Natural Vortex in Steady and Unsteady Fluid Dynamics - New Modelling; Applications in Engineering with Inspirations From Nature; Modern Experimental and Numerical Methods in Fluid Dynamics.

This book deals with the simulation of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations for laminar and turbulent flows. The book is limited to explaining and employing the finite difference method. It furnishes a large number of source codes which permit to play with the Navier-Stokes equations and to understand the complex physics related to fluid mechanics. Numerical simulations are useful tools to understand the complexity of the flows, which often is difficult to derive from laboratory experiments. This book, then, can be very useful to scholars doing laboratory experiments, since they often do not have extra time to study the large variety of numerical methods; furthermore they cannot spend more time in transferring one of the methods into a computer language. By means of numerical simulations, for example, insights into the vorticity field can be obtained which are difficult to obtain by measurements. This book can be used by graduate as well as undergraduate students while reading books on theoretical fluid mechanics; it teaches how to simulate the dynamics of flow fields on personal computers. This will provide a better way of understanding the theory. Two chapters on Large Eddy Simulations have been included, since this is a methodology that in the near future will allow more universal turbulence models for practical applications. The direct simulation of the Navier-Stokes equations (DNS) is simple by finite-differences, that are satisfactory to reproduce the dynamics of turbulent flows. A large part of the book is devoted to the study of homogeneous and wall turbulent flows. In the second chapter the elementary concept of finite difference is given to solve parabolic and elliptical partial differential equations. In successive chapters the 1D, 2D, and 3D Navier-Stokes equations are solved in Cartesian and cylindrical coordinates. Finally, Large Eddy Simulations are performed to check the importance of the subgrid scale models. Results for turbulent and laminar flows are discussed, with particular emphasis on vortex dynamics. This volume will be of interest to graduate students and researchers wanting to compare experiments and numerical simulations, and to workers in the mechanical and aeronautic industries.

Rotating flow is critically important across a wide range of scientific, engineering and product applications, providing design and modeling capability for diverse products such as jet engines, pumps and vacuum cleaners, as well as geophysical flows.Developed over the course of 20 years' research into rotating fluids and associated heat transfer at the University of Sussex Thermo-Fluid Mechanics Research Centre (TFMRC), Rotating Flow is an indispensable reference and resource for all those working within the gas turbine and rotating machinery industries.Traditional fluid and flow dynamics titles offer the essential background but generally include very sparse coverage of rotating flows—which is where this book comes in. Beginning with an accessible introduction to rotating flow, recognized expert Peter Childs takes you through fundamental equations, vorticity and vortices, rotating disc flow, flow around rotating cylinders and flow in rotating cavities, with an introduction to atmospheric and oceanic circulations included to help deepen understanding.Whilst competing resources are weighed down with complex mathematics, this book focuses on the essential equations and provides full workings to take readers step-by-step through the theory so they can concentrate on the practical applications. - A detailed yet accessible introduction to rotating flows, illustrating the differences between flows where rotation is significant and highlighting the non-intuitive nature of rotating flow fields - Written by world-leading authority on rotating flow, Peter Childs, making this a unique and authoritative work - Covers the essential theory behind engineering applications such as rotating discs, cylinders, and cavities, with natural phenomena such as atmospheric and oceanic flows used to explain underlying principles - Provides a rigorous, fully worked mathematical account of rotating flows whilst also including numerous practical examples in daily life to highlight the relevance and prevalence of different flow types - Concise summaries of the results of important research and lists of references included to direct readers to significant further resources

A modern up-to-date introduction for readers outside statistical physics. It puts emphasis on a clear understanding of concepts and methods and provides the tools that can be of immediate use in applications.

An introduction to "flow," a new field of behavioral science that offers life-fulfilling potential, explains its principles and shows how to introduce flow into all aspects of life, avoiding the interferences of disharmony.

Originally published in 1934, this book identifies and analyses the different types of waves most prevalent amongst the world's oceans and rivers and is an account of the author's original contributions to the knowledge of wave phenomena. Chapter one comprehensively explores the size and speed of ocean waves in relation to the velocity of wind, chapter two analyses waves in sand and snow formed and propelled by wind and current, whist chapter three investigates tidal bores and other progressive waves in rivers. The book also contains a variety of insightful and fascinating photographs presenting the different varieties of wave formation, such as tidal sand waves, leaping waves and the roll waves of a stream. This book will serve as an important reference work for researchers in the field and will be of considerable value to anyone interested in geophysics, climatology and oceanography.

Since most of the problems arising in science and engineering are nonlinear, they are inherently difficult to solve. Traditional analytical approximations are valid only for weakly nonlinear problems and often fail when used for problems with strong nonlinearity. “Nonlinear Flow Phenomena and Homotopy Analysis: Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer” presents the current theoretical developments of the analytical method of homotopy analysis. This book not only addresses the theoretical framework for the method, but also gives a number of examples of nonlinear problems that have been solved by means of the homotopy analysis method. The particular focus lies on fluid flow problems governed by nonlinear differential equations. This book is intended for researchers in applied mathematics, physics, mechanics and engineering. Both Kuppalapalle Vajravelu and Robert A. Van Gorder work at the University of Central Florida, USA.