This book, Essential Fluids with MATLAB and Octave - Part 2 (Applications), is the third of the series of four books the author has planned to develop before and during his retirement. These books are meant to be vehicles by which the author can give back to his profession and its practice. These books address the early foundations of mechanical engineering in undergraduate education -see Essential Foundations of Engineering. They are also useful in several other engineering/technology disciplines, such as aerospace, civil, and chemical engineering. The split between Part1 and Part 2 was not planned but happened because it was taking a long time to write all of the chapters. Part 1 was released earlier while Part 2 was in preparation.
The quality of information retrieval through Internet search has significantly changed for the better. Much has happened in the Internet search landscape between the publication of Parts 1 and Parts 2. The surprising advancement of AI, the incorporation of AI in search results, particular the AI overview, reported in search using Google’s Chrome browser, raises a simple question.
Is it really necessary to write a book anymore, however novel it may be, in any topic, when the search results are so detailed ,complete, and can propel you to visit advanced topics on the topic through additional links?
Having come this far, the author plans to continue and finish the last planned book on Essential Dynamics.
Essential Fluids with MATLAB and Octave - Part 1 (Theory) and Part 2 (Application) are developed similarly to Essential Mechanics - Statics and Strength of Materials with MATLAB and Octave released by the author in Jan 2020.
This first book in the series, Essential Mechanics - Statics and Strength of Materials with MATLAB and Octave, is unique and atypical . It combines two normally separate courses in the early undergraduate engineering curriculum. It weaves together various essential topics from Statics and Strength of Materials to allow discussing structural design from the very beginning. The traditional content of these courses are reordered to make it convenient to cover rigid body equilibrium and extend it to deformable body mechanics immediately – rather than having to wait a semester.
The first eBook, also covers the most useful topics with computational support through MATLAB/Octave. The traditional approach to learning engineering content is rigorously supported through graphics and analysis. Prior knowledge of MATLAB/Octave is not necessary. Use of Octave (a GNU resource) is included for those who do not have access to MATLAB through an institutional license. Instructions for its use in context are provided and explained. It takes advantage of the numerical, symbolic, and graphical capability of MATLAB/Octave for effective problem solving. This computational ability provides a natural procedure for What if? exploration that is important for design. The book also emphasizes graphics to understand, learn, and explore design.
The second eBook, Essential Fluids with MATLAB and Octave - Part 1 (Theory) addresses only basic fluid mechanics. It covers theoretical development which is necessary to understand fluid flow. The computational support through MATLAB/Octave is fundamental to the textbook with an emphasis on understanding concepts through graphics. The book also supports the ability to generate graphics through programming. The second part will cover applications. These applications are parameter based and rely on empirical information that may be free or royalty constrained. They are mostly algebraic applications that rely on tables, charts, and simple correlations.
One important takeaway from Part 1 is that fluid mechanics is hard. Serious applications in fluid mechanics require a lot more learning on multiple fronts and levels. Real fluid problems and designs involve three dimensional, unsteady, nonlinear flow on complex boundaries. It may also involve little understood fluid properties. It is only possible to determine the solution or evaluate the design numerically via computation. This is referred as computer simulation. Solutions involve advanced numerical techniques, advanced programming, and extensive computing resources. Even then the solution is difficult to establish. It is currently not possible to completely solve an actual three-dimensional, unsteady, turbulent, viscous flow over a car or an aircraft. Most solutions are output of numerical simulation and numerical experimentation. Verifying the numerical process requires actual field experimental data that is very expensive, difficult, and challenging to obtain. Real fluid design problems today are addressed by special software packages using massive resources, which require advanced degrees and training. This is way beyond the scope of this introductory book or even an advanced book. It will require a lifetime of professional commitment.
The content of Essential Fluids with MATLAB and Octave - Part 2 (Applications) will cover topics similar to the other books in the field. There is not much scope for originality except for the integration of computation where possible. The design and applications are based on simple parameterized models that mostly require application of algebra.These input/output models are based on fixed geometries infused with parameters that are read off charts or interpolated from tables. Sometimes data is fitted to provide formulas for easier application. This requires access to databases. In current printed books, they are part of a large appendix spanning a significant number of pages. The author's book is an eBook and it makes more sense to link these databases through hypertext links. The author’s books in this series are open access books. They are available as eBooks, free to download with the most generous Creative Commons international license. They are also self published. Only links to royalty free databases are included.
I would like to include an important question and its answer that appeared in the foreword in Part 1
Does the world need another Fluid Mechanics textbook ?
For me the answer is Yes! if it is different in a useful way. My book (and the series) is the result of a long held passion and belief that computation can empower and energize thinking and learning even in basic courses. I am hoping that all of you who use this book will confirm (or disagree) with this premise after you explore its contents. It can certainly be used along with a traditional offering of the basic fluid mechanics course in all institutions. I believe that the book can be a positive influence in learning basic concepts of fluid flow. A non traditional book, especially a free one, has a lot of difficulty in attracting a new audience. My publicity budget is non-existent. I will rely on your dissemination for its growth in use. I cannot attest to its actual effects on learning but I hope all of you will be able to.
(The following content appeared in the foreword in Part 1. I believe it is worth repeating)
As an instructor I always used MATLAB in all my courses without requiring prior knowledge of MATLAB programming. I have one hands-on session to explain the basics of using MATLAB and one session on problem solving with MATLAB. I provide the base code for subsequent problem solving examples.. Students were encouraged to use and modify the code to apply it to new problems. Copy, Paste, and Edit was necessarily encouraged. MATLAB use appeared as assignments. MATLAB use was not overwhelming in any course. This type of adoption does not need knowledge of MATLAB programming. Subject information was still conveyed in a traditional manner. Students use MATLAB as a tool for problem solving.
As a teacher I have observed that students have difficulty in understanding even basic concepts in engineering courses because they lack confidence with mathematical recollection and reasoning. This hangup with math is a serious impediment to develop simple analytical skills and its application. They lose interest in the courses very early and find it difficult to stay tuned. They are unable to create their own database of concepts in their mind from attending all those early engineering courses. Later we just pile on additional equations, formulas, with very little of the information being usefully absorbed.
A simple way to recollect prerequisite mathematical information could fix the above problem. This is my reason for integrating problem solving using MATLAB in my courses. This relaxes the burden on the student of recollecting knowledge gained through earlier math courses. MATLAB is a complete mathematical encyclopedia with the needed information available with a simple command (often just a single word). You do not need to know serious MATLAB programming. Just how to execute the command and handle the result.
Another way to enhance learning and understanding is to demonstrate concepts through graphics. Particularly with graphics that can be created on the fly. MATLAB supports graphical programming with a small set of commands. For example, in the basic fluids course, we define a fluid velocity field using a mathematical expression. We then crank out the acceleration field applying standard formulation and that's the end of it. The student really does not conceive of what he has done. He has no picture of a physical phenomena in his mind - the velocity field. All he did was test/review his math skills. This is not easy for the student as differentiation was learned in the previous semester and they have moved on. Now the student has to connect and absorb this information. Formulaic manipulation is so dry and hardly inspiring. Imagine that the students can see the plot of the velocity field illustrated using velocity vectors. Imagine the richness of information when we can draw streamlines for this field and create a particle track. Imagine if the acceleration field is automatically constructed and displayed. Instead of just equations we now visualize the field and its properties. To program all this in an introductory fluids course with limited programming skills is definitely a challenge. If the base code is available the student only has to change the velocity definition (a simple act) and then visually experience the connection between the particular field definition (math) and some of its properties (behavior). The emphasis is not on MATLAB but problem solving with MATLAB.
I am very comfortable with MATLAB and have been using it for a long time. I do not use Octave except for this book. I program in MATLAB and make sure the code runs in Octave with minimal changes. I identify the changes in the text.
The entire text is authored by me alone. The figures used in the analysis are drawn by me. I like to use a lot of color as the book is expected to be viewed on a device (eBook). The code is original and mine. For
Essential Fluids with MATLAB and Octave - Part 2 (Applications)
Technical Information involved in the development of the book:
The book was written in Scrivener from Literature and Latte (version 1.9). There is a newer version but its integration with MathType (old stand alone version was not available)
The figures are created using Canvas X Draw from Canvas GFX
The mathematical formulas are generated using MathType (6.9c) from Design Science
MATLAB code using MATLAB version 2020a from Mathworks
Octave code using GNU Octave version 5.1/5.2 from GNU Octave site. However due to reinstalling my windows desktop, (after a suspected malware attack) I had to resort to GNU Octave version 9.1.0
Python and Sympy through Anaconda Python 3 distribution (for Octave)
All figures not created by the author are from public domain sources. The majority of them are from Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia). If a particular figure in this book should not be present because of proprietary reasons the author will exclude it and update the electronic file, when informed.
I would welcome any assistance for editing the manuscript. I am sure of having missed the errors during my edits. I am sure there are still lots of them. Sometimes there is unintentional wrapping of the code. With your help I can correct them and update the electronic file.
If you like the book please give it a shout out in your preferred media.
P. Venkataraman
July 2026
Rochester, NY, USA.
Email : Venpanch1@outlook.com
Profile: https://sites.google.com/site/venkatpan/
Ex-Faculty:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Rochester Institute of Technology,
Rochester, NY 146123, USA
Alumni:
I. I. T. Kanpur, B.Tech, (graduated 1974)
Rice University, PhD, (graduated 1984)