Preface

This second edition of Analysis of Transport Phenomena presents a comprehensive and unified treatment of transport phenomena with contemporary examples and relevant homework problems. It provides an integrated treatment of mass transfer, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics that is designed mainly for graduate students in chemical engineering, but that is accessible also to advanced undergraduates. It will be of interest as well to students in bioengineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, and other fields in which there is a need to predict rates of diffusion, reaction, heat conduction, or flow. Transport phenomena is a mature subject with a well-established theoretical framework, but one which continually finds new applications. By being both broad and rigorous, this text will help prepare students to model systems and processes involving a variety of chemical, physical, and biological phenomena. Although the book presents many results that have widespread application in engineering, its focus is on methods of analysis.

A major challenge in analyzing transport processes is the mathematical complexity that can be involved. The partial differential equations that describe concentration, temperature, or velocity fields are often easy to state but difficult to solve, either analytically or numerically. Obtaining useful answers requires rational ways to make and justify approximations, an aspect of model formulation that receives particular attention in this text. Also included are systematic explanations of selected methods for obtaining analytical solutions. The objective is to permit a student who has little prior experience with partial differential equations to understand the origins of classical results and to solve increasingly sophisticated problems on his or her own. A good analytical background is needed to identify which kinds of approximations are most valuable when formulating a transport model. It also leads to more effective use of numerical techniques, which are beyond the scope of this book. The coverage of solution methods differs from that in mathematics texts, in that the emphasis here is on the interplay between physical and mathematical reasoning.