The book combines fundamental concepts in fluid mechanics and physical chemistry, supporting increasingly important technologies like electronic thin-film processing or combustion-emission abatement. The overarching objective is to assist the student (or other reader) in developing analysis and simulation skills that are usable and extendable for solving real-world engineering problems.
The new edition rearranges the technical content in a ways that could promote broader adoption in graduate education. The intent of the first half of the book is to establish multicomponent fluid-mechanical fundamentals, with relatively little emphasis on chemistry per se. The intent of the second half of the book is to delve into reaction chemistry, but retaining an emphasis on reactive fluid mechanics. Specialized topics such as statistical thermodynamics are relegated to a supporting role, seeking to provide insight, but in ways that could be omitted from the coverage in an engineering class.
The new edition includes new technical content in two important areas. One is reactive porous-media flows, which play important roles in a number of current technologies including catalytic packed beds, fuel-cell electrodes, and flow-battery electrodes. The second new topic concerns electrochemistry, such as in fuel cells and batteries concentrating on charge-transfer chemistry at fluid-electrode interfaces. Thus, there is a great deal or synergy between traditional fluid mechanics, porous-media transport within certain types of electrodes, and electrochemical fundamentals. The authors are actively pursuing leading-edge research in these topics.
