Basics of Fluid Mechanics from Udemy

Fluids are everywhere in the world we live in. And they are relevant in different engineering fields such as mechanical, aerospace, chemical, biomedical, civil, … Fluid mechanics as a discipline started centuries ago, and yet today it is still very relevant with the emergence of new experimental techniques, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and data-driven approaches to tackle very challenging problems.

In this course we will talk about some of the most fundamental theories and first principles for fluid mechanics, specifically for incompressible flows, as most starting courses do. I hope to break down in a comprehensible way the basic concepts, going over flow kinematics, conservation and Navier-Stokes equations, turbulence, hydrostatics, pipe flow, potential flow, and dimensional analysis & similarity. I include some examples of problems you should be able to solve with the relevant equations. My hope is that with the basic language and tools within the discipline, you may be able to jump into more complex topics and other resources that may be of interest to you. The course is geared toward undergraduate students taking a first look at fluid mechanics, graduate students who may want to review some specific aspects, as well as practicing engineers who may need a refresher for FE or PE exams.

While some of the mathematical or physical concepts may appear daunting, it is definitely a fun and beautiful scientific field to dive into that unveils many of Nature's mysteries.

What's inside

Learning objectives

Learn the fundamental theories, first principles and equations for incompressible fluid mechanics
Understand fundamental problems and how to make reasonable simplifying assumptions

Use practical / empirical equations to solve real-world problems
Gain initial exposure on the basics and be able to dive deeper with other resources

Learn the fundamental theories, first principles and equations for incompressible fluid mechanics
Understand fundamental problems and how to make reasonable simplifying assumptions
Use practical / empirical equations to solve real-world problems
Gain initial exposure on the basics and be able to dive deeper with other resources

Syllabus

Introduction

Introduction Quiz

Learn the concepts of material derivative, Euler vs Lagrangian frameworks, the difference between streamlines, pathlines and streaklines, and how to compute volumetric / mass flow rates.

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Covers incompressible flows, which is a common starting point for understanding fluid mechanics and provides a solid foundation for further study

Explores dimensional analysis and similarity, which are essential tools for simplifying complex fluid flow problems and designing experiments

Reviews fundamental theories and first principles, which can serve as a refresher for practicing engineers preparing for FE or PE exams

Includes quizzes on key topics such as kinematics and the introduction, allowing learners to test their understanding and reinforce learning

Focuses on integral and differential forms of conservation equations, which are crucial for analyzing fluid behavior in various engineering applications

Examines solutions to Navier-Stokes equations, which are fundamental to understanding fluid motion, but can be mathematically challenging for beginners

Reviews summary

Foundational fluid mechanics for beginners

According to students, this course provides a positive and solid foundation in the basics of fluid mechanics, particularly for incompressible flows. Learners appreciate the clear explanations and structured approach, making complex concepts accessible. While some find the mathematical concepts challenging and feel certain topics could use more depth or additional practice problems, many highlight its suitability as a first look at the subject or a useful refresher for exams like the FE or PE. The course is seen as a good starting point to dive into more advanced resources.

Helps prepare for professional exams.

"This course was a great refresher for the FE exam. It covered exactly the fluid mechanics topics I needed."

"Highly recommend for practicing engineers needing to review for the PE exam or just refresh their knowledge."

"The problems and concepts covered are very relevant to what you see on professional engineering exams."

"It helped me recall key formulas and principles needed for my upcoming certification test."

Accessible intro for new learners.

"As someone new to fluid mechanics, I found this course very accessible and not overly intimidating."

"It's geared perfectly towards undergraduate students taking their first fluid mechanics course."

"Excellent starting point if you've never studied this topic before. Assumes minimal prior knowledge."

"I had no prior background in fluids, and this course helped me get up to speed with the core concepts."

Builds a solid base for the subject.

"This course gave me a strong foundation in fluid mechanics. It covered all the core principles I needed to start."

"It's an excellent introduction that covers the most fundamental theories and equations for incompressible flows."

"The course truly delivers on its promise to cover the basics thoroughly."

"I feel much more confident approaching fluid mechanics after completing this course; it built a great base."

Concepts explained well, easy to follow.

"The instructor does a fantastic job explaining complex fluid mechanics concepts in a clear and understandable way."

"I found the explanations very clear, which made the fundamental principles much easier to grasp than I expected."

"The course content was presented logically and clearly. It was easy to follow along, even for someone new to the topic."

"The way the material was broken down and explained helped me solidify my understanding of the basics."

Could use more detail or practice.

"Some topics felt a bit rushed, and I wished there were more examples or practice problems provided."

"While coverage is broad, the depth on certain areas like turbulence or CFD is limited, as expected for a basic course."

"I would have liked a few more challenging homework assignments to really test my understanding."

"It's a good overview, but you'll need other resources for deeper dives into specific applications."

Needs background in math/physics.

"You definitely need a good grasp of calculus and basic physics to follow some of the derivations and concepts."

"While it's 'basics,' some mathematical and physical concepts are assumed knowledge."

"Learners should be comfortable with vector calculus and differential equations before starting."

"The material can be challenging if you're rusty on your math skills."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Basics of Fluid Mechanics with these activities:

Review Calculus Fundamentals

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Strengthen your understanding of calculus concepts, which are essential for grasping fluid mechanics equations and derivations.

Browse courses on Multivariable Calculus

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Review differentiation and integration techniques.
Practice solving problems involving gradients and vector fields.
Familiarize yourself with partial derivatives.

Read 'Fluid Mechanics' by Frank White

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Supplement course materials with a widely respected textbook that provides detailed explanations and examples.

View Melania on Amazon

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Read chapters relevant to the course syllabus.
Work through example problems in the book.
Compare the book's explanations with the course lectures.

Follow Online Tutorials on Dimensional Analysis

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Enhance your understanding of dimensional analysis by following online tutorials and examples.

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Search for online tutorials on dimensional analysis.
Work through the examples provided in the tutorials.
Apply dimensional analysis to solve fluid mechanics problems.

Three other activities

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Read 'Schaum's Outline of Fluid Mechanics'

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Use a Schaum's Outline to get more practice problems and solidify your understanding.

View Schaum's Outline of Fluid Mechanics, Second... on Amazon

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Review relevant chapters in the outline.
Work through the solved problems.
Attempt the practice problems at the end of each chapter.

Solve Pipe Flow Problems

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Reinforce your understanding of pipe flow concepts by working through a variety of problems.

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Find practice problems related to pipe flow.
Calculate pressure drops and flow rates in pipes.
Analyze the effects of friction and minor losses.

Create a CFD Simulation

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Apply your knowledge by creating a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of a simple flow scenario.

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Choose a simple flow scenario (e.g., flow around a cylinder).
Set up the geometry and mesh in a CFD software.
Run the simulation and analyze the results.
Compare the simulation results with theoretical predictions.

Career center

Learners who complete Basics of Fluid Mechanics will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Aerospace Engineer

Aerospace engineers design, develop, and test aircraft and spacecraft. This role relies heavily on understanding fluid mechanics to optimize aerodynamic performance. A course on fluid mechanics principles, such as flow kinematics and the Navier-Stokes equations equips you with the knowledge to analyze air flow around aircraft, predict drag, and improve lift. With its coverage of turbulence and dimensional analysis, the course specifically helps you understand these complex phenomena and apply them to aerospace designs. This course can help aerospace engineers to succeed. You will be well-prepared for roles in aircraft design, propulsion systems, and flight simulation.

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Hydraulic Engineer

Hydraulic engineers design and oversee construction of systems that control and use water, such as dams, canals, and pipelines. This course covers fundamental theories and first principles for fluid mechanics, specifically for incompressible flows which forms the basis of hydraulic system design. Through its exploration of hydrostatics and pipe flow, the course helps build your understanding of pressure distribution and flow characteristics in hydraulic structures. The course's instruction on dimensional analysis and similarity further helps in scaling models and predicting the behavior of full-scale systems. This course helps equip potential hydraulic engineers to tackle engineering problems.

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Computational Fluid Dynamics Engineer

Computational Fluid Dynamics engineers use software to simulate fluid flows. This course builds a foundation in the principles behind these simulations. By explaining the fundamental theories for fluid mechanics like conservation and Navier-Stokes equations this course provides the theoretical grounding necessary to interpret and validate CFD results. The course specifically discusses turbulence which is vital for modeling realistic flow conditions. A first principles education is essential for CFD engineers to develop accurate and reliable simulations. This course helps those who want to delve into CFD and learn how to analyze fluid behavior using computer models.

See salaries and explore the career path for Computational Fluid Dynamics Engineer

Research Scientist

Research scientists investigate fluid dynamics phenomena in academic or industrial settings. Familiarity with fluid mechanics is essential for designing experiments, analyzing data, and developing new theories. This course is an excellent resource for mastering the conservation and Navier-Stokes equations, key tools for modeling fluid behavior. Additionally, the course's coverage of turbulence and dimensional analysis provides a deeper understanding of complex flow phenomena. This course can equip researchers with the necessary skills to advance our knowledge of fluid dynamics and its applications.

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Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical engineers design and oversee the manufacturing of many products, machines and systems. This course may be useful to mechanical engineers because it examines the behavior of fluids. Fluid mechanics concepts are crucial in designing efficient pumps, turbines, and heat exchangers. The course's sections on pipe flow and potential flow build a strong foundation for analyzing fluid systems. This course may further help you to understand the underlying principles governing fluid behavior. With this knowledge, mechanical engineers can optimize designs for performance and reliability.

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Chemical Engineer

Chemical engineers design and operate processes that involve the production of chemicals and materials. This course helps chemical engineers understand fluid behavior within reactors, pipelines, and separation equipment. The course's lessons on pipe flow and turbulence help in designing efficient and safe chemical processes. With a solid understanding of the fundamentals gained from this course, chemical engineers can optimize chemical processes for maximum efficiency and product quality. Understanding the first principles is also critical for troubleshooting problems encountered in chemical plants.

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Environmental Engineer

Environmental engineers work to protect the environment through the design of solutions to environmental problems. Understanding fluid mechanics is important in designing wastewater treatment plants, managing river flows, and modeling pollutant dispersion. This course may be helpful to environmental engineers because it can teach them to understand key concepts, like hydrostatics. Furthermore, the course builds a foundation in fluid mechanics fundamentals. This course provides a strong basis for tackling environmental challenges related to water resources and pollution control.

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Civil Engineer

Civil engineers design, construct, and maintain the built environment, including infrastructure projects. Fluid mechanics principles play a crucial role in various civil engineering applications, such as designing drainage systems, culverts, and bridge supports. This course may be useful to civil engineers. The course's coverage of hydrostatics and pipe flow helps in analyzing water pressure and flow rates in these structures. Civil engineers who have a strong grasp of fluid mechanics are better equipped to ensure the safety and sustainability of infrastructure projects.

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Biomedical Engineer

Biomedical engineers apply engineering principles to solve medical and healthcare-related problems. Fluid mechanics concepts are relevant in understanding blood flow in the cardiovascular system, designing artificial organs, and developing drug delivery systems. This course may be useful to biomedical engineers. The study of conservation and Navier-Stokes equations can help with modeling blood flow. Biomedical engineers can leverage this knowledge to develop innovative solutions for improving human health and well-being.

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Petroleum Engineer

Petroleum engineers design and develop methods for extracting oil and gas from the earth. A strong grounding in fluid mechanics is essential for understanding multiphase flow in porous media, designing efficient drilling and production systems, and optimizing reservoir management. This course may be helpful. The first principles taught in this course provide the basic language for more complex topics. Petroleum engineers can use this knowledge to improve energy extraction.

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Data Scientist

Data scientists analyze and interpret complex data sets to extract meaningful insights and inform decision-making. While seemingly unrelated, a background in fluid mechanics can be surprisingly valuable for data scientists working with physical systems or sensor data. Many real-world phenomena, such as weather patterns, financial markets, and social networks, can be modeled using fluid dynamics principles. This course may be useful to data scientists. This course may broaden their analytical toolkit.

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Automotive Engineer

Automotive engineers design and develop vehicles and their various systems. This can include improving aerodynamics to improve fuel efficiency. The study of turbulence and dimensional analysis in the course can help Automotive engineers understand complex flow phenomena. This course may be useful to automotive engineers as they try to optimize designs for performance.

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Energy Engineer

Energy engineers focus on improving energy efficiency and developing sustainable energy solutions. Fluid mechanics principles are essential for designing efficient energy systems, such as wind turbines, hydroelectric power plants, and geothermal systems. The study of topics, like pipe flow, may be useful to energy engineers as they optimize designs. Studying this course may help energy engineers.

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Patent Attorney

Patent attorneys advise clients on intellectual property law, including patents for inventions. In order to write patents, they need to understand the inventions deeply. This course may be useful because it will allow a patent attorney to better understand fluid mechanics related patents. The fundamental skills taught in this course may be relevant to a patent attorney.

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Investment Banker

Investment bankers advise companies on financial transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, and initial public offerings. This course may be useful to investment bankers. It is a very basic course that can improve the general knowledge of an investment banker. A first principles course improves critical thinking and analysis. This course may be useful to investment bankers.

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Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Basics of Fluid Mechanics.

Schaum's Outline of Fluid Mechanics, Second Edition

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Problem-solving supplement that provides a concise overview of fluid mechanics concepts and a large number of solved problems. It useful resource for students who want to practice problem-solving and reinforce their understanding of the material. This book is particularly helpful for exam preparation.

Schaum's Outline of Fluid Mechanics, Second Edition...

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Basics of Fluid Mechanics

What's inside

Learning objectives

Syllabus

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Reviews summary

Foundational fluid mechanics for beginners

Activities

Career center

Reading list

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