Peer Review

Fundamentals of compressible Flow Mechanics

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Reviewed:: Jul 27, 2021 by Engineering

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This book, Fundamentals of Compressible Flow, describes the fundamentals of compressible flow phenomena for engineers and others. This book is designed to replace the book(s) or instructor's notes for the compressible flow in (mostly) undergraduate classes for engineering/science students. The structure of this book is such that many of the chapters can be used independently.The book could be used as a reference book for people who have at least some knowledge of the basics of fundamental fluid mechanics, and basic science such as calculus, physics, etc.
Type of Material:: Open (Access) Textbook
Recommended Uses:: It could be recommended for advanced courses on mechanical or aeronautical engineering. Useful also for blended/hybrid teaching as a reference book
Technical Requirements:: Google Chrome v 79 and Mozilla Firefox v 68.0.1 were used to access the book.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: The major learning goal is to bring deep knowledge on compressible flow for engineers or engineering students that will face these concepts in their work, e.g. aeronautics.
Target Student Population:: This material should be addressed to engineering students (Graduate students), as well as for engineers that need to know about Compressible Flow at work, and to College General Ed.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: It is recommended to have prior knowledge on mathematics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and physics at University level (first course).

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

- Core concepts about compressible flow are well explained.

- Examples with solutions are provided, which will help readers and students to settle the knowledge acquired along the text.

- Rigorous demonstrations and derivation of equations.

Concerns:

- As gathered in the Prologue, Version 0.4.3 includes a set of sections that have been added to this version, as requested by readers. Instead of this, some sections, e.g. in Chapter 2., Sections 2.2 Fluid Properties, and 2.3 Control Volume, have not been developed in the text. For the reader, it should be more useful to have all the information concerning all sections in the same book.

- The use of references is not reported.

- Some section and chapter seem to be under development, not finished (for example, Chapter 15).

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

- Demonstrations are clearly described, and the examples are useful for the readers / students.

- The material could be used for self-learning as well as a supplementary material in traditional or blended/hybrid advanced courses. The learning objectives are clearly stated.

Concerns:

- It can be used as supporting material for Fluid Mechanics classes, but current users should demand a book with updated images, or links to short videos or to other webs to complement the information given.

- More examples or an evaluation at the end of each chapter should be desirable.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: Ease of use as e-book. Readable in streaming and downloadable in several formats (epub, Kindle, pdf…). Facility of audio-reading, increased accessibility.
Concerns:: - The format of the book is not visually appealing. Current users should demand a book with updated images, or links to short videos or to other webs to complement the information given.

Other Issues and Comments:: The open textbook is addressed to engineers and students of engineering degrees interested in learning about compressible flow in gases for engineering applications. Contents are complex and are developed rigorously, which requires deep foundations in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and mathematics. This book can replace the lectures or instructor's notes for the compressible flow in undergraduate classes for engineering/science students.
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