This is a comprehensive biography of Ludwig Prandtl (1875-1953), the father of modern aerodynamics. His name is associated most famously with the boundary layer concept, but also with several other topics in 20th century fluid mechanics, particularly turbulence (Prandtl's mixing length). Among his disciples are pioneers of modern fluid mechanics such as Heinrich Blasius, Theodore von Kármán and Walter Tollmien. Furthermore, Prandtl founded the Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt (AVA) and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Strömungsforschung in Göttingen, both of them seeds for the growth of fluid mechanics in Germany. Yet Prandtl was also a representative of aeronautical research - from Imperial Germany via the Weimar Republic to the "Third Reich". Although not a party member, he assumed the role of a goodwill ambassador for Nazi Germany. This objective treatment of his career will be of interest to all scientists and historians wanting to learn more about Prandtl's influence and the early development of fluid- and aerodynamics.

This book is an update and extension of the classic textbook by Ludwig Prandtl, Essentials of Fluid Mechanics. It is based on the 10th German edition with additional material included. Chapters on wing aerodynamics, heat transfer, and layered flows have been revised and extended, and there are new chapters on fluid mechanical instabilities and biomedical fluid mechanics. References to the literature have been kept to a minimum, and the extensive historical citations may be found by referring to previous editions. This book is aimed at science and engineering students who wish to attain an overview of the various branches of fluid mechanics. It will also be useful as a reference for researchers working in the field of fluid mechanics.

Prandtl was one of the great theorists of aerodynamics and this work has long been considered one of the finest introductory works in the field. Topics include flow through pipes, Prandtl's own work on boundary layers, drag, airfoil theory, and entry conditions for flow in a pipe.

Prandtl''s pioneering experiments laid the basis for the use of theoretical hydromechanics and hydrodynamics in practical engineering problems. This volume presents Tietjens'' famous expansion of Prandtl''s lectures: statics and kinematics of liquids and gases, dynamics of non-viscous liquids. Proofs use vector analysis.

When Ludwig Prandtl took up the Chair of Applied Mechanics at Göttingen University in 1904, the small university town became the cradle of modern fluid mechanics and aerodynamics. Not only did Prandtl found two research institutions of worldwide renown, the Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt (AVA) and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Strömungsforschung, but with the so-called ‘Göttingen School’ he also established an exceptionally fertile line of scientific thinking, unique for its special balance of intuition for physics and mathematical precision. The scientific methods developed by Prandtl and his pupils are manifested in numerous dissertations, monographs and textbooks that now rate as classics and hence belong to the fundamental works on fluid mechanics. Yet many of these publications have long been out of print and inaccessible for study. The series Göttinger Klassiker der Strömungsmechanik is thus making available selected publications that emerged from Ludwig Prandtl’s ‘Göttingen School’ or stand in a particular historical relationship to it. This highly personal biography of Ludwig Prandtl compiled by his daughter, Johanna Vogel-Prandtl, is complemented by numerous photographs depicting Prandtl’s working and private life. It completes the picture of the founding father of modern fluid mechanics whose scientific importance continues to resonate to this day.

This new edition of the near-legendary textbook by Schlichting and revised by Gersten presents a comprehensive overview of boundary-layer theory and its application to all areas of fluid mechanics, with particular emphasis on the flow past bodies (e.g. aircraft aerodynamics). The new edition features an updated reference list and over 100 additional changes throughout the book, reflecting the latest advances on the subject.

The biggest problem for a shallow foundation, just as for any other type of foundation, is a failure due to an overestimation of the bearing capacity. This means that the correct prediction of the bearing capacity of the foundation is often the most important part of the design of a civil structure. That is why the publication by Prandtl in 1920 about the hardness of a plastic body, was a major step in solving the bearing capacity of shallow foundations, although it is well possible that he never realised this, because his solution was not made for civil engineering purposes, but for mechanical purposes. Over the last 100 years, a lot of extensions have been made, for example with inclination factors and shape factors. Also many laboratory experiments have been done and numerical calculations have been made. Some even try to extrapolate the failure mechanism for shallow foundations to the failure mechanism around the tip of a pile. All this scientific work leads back to the first publication by Ludwig Prandtl in 1920. This book, “100 Years of Prandtl’s Wedge”, is intended for all those who are interested in these fundamentals of foundation engineering and their history. The Appendices include a copy of Prandtl’s Über die Härte plastischer Körper and of Reissner’s publication of 1924, Zum Erddruckproblem.

Why do aircraft fly? How do their wings support them? In the early years of aviation, there was an intense dispute between British and German experts over the question of why and how an aircraft wing provides lift. The British, under the leadership of the great Cambridge mathematical physicist Lord Rayleigh, produced highly elaborate investigations of the nature of discontinuous flow, while the Germans, following Ludwig Prandtl in Göttingen, relied on the tradition called “technical mechanics” to explain the flow of air around a wing. Much of the basis of modern aerodynamics emerged from this remarkable episode, yet it has never been subject to a detailed historical and sociological analysis. In The Enigma of the Aerofoil, David Bloor probes a neglected aspect of this important period in the history of aviation. Bloor draws upon papers by the participants—their restricted technical reports, meeting minutes, and personal correspondence, much of which has never before been published—and reveals the impact that the divergent mathematical traditions of Cambridge and Göttingen had on this great debate. Bloor also addresses why the British, even after discovering the failings of their own theory, remained resistant to the German circulation theory for more than a decade. The result is essential reading for anyone studying the history, philosophy, or sociology of science or technology—and for all those intrigued by flight.

This is the first publication to describe the evolution of fluid dynamics as a major field in modern science and engineering. It contains a description of the interaction between applied research and application, taking as its example the history of fluid mechanics in the 20th century. The focus lies on the work of Ludwig Prandtl, founder of the aerodynamic research center (AVA) in Göttingen, whose ideas and publications have influenced modern aerodynamics and fluid mechanics in many fields. While suitable for others, this book is intended for natural scientists and engineers as well as historians of science and technology.

This book provides the first fully-fledged history of hydrodynamics, including lively accounts of the concrete problems of hydraulics, navigation, blood circulation, meteorology, and aeronautics that motivated the main conceptual innovations. Richly illustrated, technically competent, and philosophically sensitive, it should attract a broad audience and become a standard reference for any one interested in fluid mechanics.