Mass, Momentum and Energy Transport Phenomena: A Consistent Balances Approach

A treatment of the transport and transfer processes of heat, mass and momentum in terms of their analogy. The processes are described with the help of macro and micro balances which in many cases lead to differential equations. This way, the textbook also prepares for Computational Fluid Dynamics techniques.

The topics of the five chapters of the textbook are:

• Balances: shape and recipe, mass balance, residence time distribution, energy and heat balances, Bernoulli equation, momentum balances
• Molecular transport, dimensional analysis, forces on immersed objects
• Heat transport: steady-state and unsteady conduction, the general heat transport equation, forced and free convective heat transport, radiant heat transport
• Mass transport: steady-state and unsteady diffusion, the general mass transport equation, mass transfer across a phase interface, convective mass transport, wet bulb temperature
• Fluid mechanics: flow meters, pressure drop, packed beds, laminar flow of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, Navier-Stokes equations

The leading idea behind this textbook is to train students in solving problems where transport phenomena are key. To this end, the textbook comprises almost 80 problems with solutions.

Harry E.A. Van den Akker earned his MSc and PhD degrees at Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, and started his career in 1977 at the Royal/Dutch Shell Laboratories, Amsterdam (KSLA) as a research engineer. In 1988, he was appointed Full Professor of Transport Phenomena and Director of the ‘Kramers Laboratorium voor Fysische Technologie’ of Delft University of Technology. From 2002 until 2011, Van den Akker was Head of Department of the Multi-Scale Physics Dept. within the Delft Faculty of Applied Sciences. In the period 2000 – 2003, he was Visiting Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at King’s College, University of London, UK. In 2012, he spent a short sabbatical at Princeton University. In September 2013, Van den Akker was appointed Bernal Professor of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Limerick, Ireland, while retaining a part-time affiliation with Delft University of Technology. In 2018, he was appointed visiting Burgers Professor of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Maryland, and in 2021 he was invited as the ‘William R. Kenan Jr.’ Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University. Most of Van den Akker’s research was in the fields of experimental and computational fluid mechanics, modelling of transport phenomena, turbulence and multi-phase flow. He has published some 150 papers in the Web of Science Core Collection. In 2013, his 1999 paper (with Dr Jos Derksen) in AIChE Journal on lattice Boltzmann simulations of a stirred vessel was selected by the North American Mixing Forum as one of the 21 most influential contributions to the field of mixing (since 1940). Harry Van den Akker received the 2011 Professor of Excellence Award at Delft University. In 2015, he was awarded the 2015 BHR Group Lifetime Recognition Award in Mixing by the ‘Working Party on Mixing’ of the European Federation of Chemical Engineers.

Robert F. Mudde studied physics at Leiden University, where he obtained his PhD in the area of quantum liquids. In 1988 he joined the ‘Kramers Laboratorium voor Fysische Technologie’ of Delft University of Technology. His field of interest is transport phenomena with emphasis on multiphase flows in chemical engineering applications. He has been teaching basic courses in Transport Phenomena for some 30 years in various programs. He is co-creator of two MOOCs on Transport Phenomena that have attracted tens of thousands of learners from all over the world. In 2016 he received the Frank Morton Medal as recognition by IChemE for excellence in chemical engineering education. In the same year, he was named Distinguished Professor in Science Education by Delft University of Technology for his contribution to science and engineering education in general. From 2006 till 2016, Mudde was Director of Education of the faculty of Applied Sciences of Delft University of Technology, and from 2013 till 2016 vice-dean of the same faculty. In the academic year 95-96, Mudde was guest researcher in the group of Prof. L.-S. Fan, department of Chemical Engineering of Ohio State University, USA. In Spring 1999 he was Visiting Professor in the group of Prof. T. Saito, National Institute For Resources and Environment, Tsukuba, Japan. Currently, he serves in the Executive Board of Delft University of Technology as the Vice President Education / Vice Rector Magnificus.