Transport phenomena
Undergraduate · Engineering
Syllabus focus
Topics typically covered
Standard syllabus
Momentum transport
- Shell momentum balances and stress tensors (intro)
- Velocity profiles in laminar internal flow
- Boundary layer equations and Blasius solution (overview)
- Turbulence: Reynolds averaging concepts
- Friction factors and drag correlations
- Non-Newtonian fluid flow (Power-law model)
- Porous media flow: Darcy's law
- Two-phase flow regimes (survey)
- Mixing and agitation in stirred tanks
- Macroscopic mechanical energy balance
Heat and mass transport
- Fourier, Newton, and Fick's laws as analogs
- Mass diffusion coefficients and binary systems
- Concentration boundary layers
- Convective mass transfer coefficients
- Simultaneous heat and mass transfer: evaporation
- Multicomponent diffusion (intro)
- Energy and mass balances for control volumes
- Dimensional analysis for transport correlations
- Heat and mass exchangers: coupled design
- Coupled transport in biological systems (survey)
STEM / applied
Process and chemical engineering applications
- Shell-and-tube and plate heat exchanger design
- Distillation column mass transfer stages
- Absorption and stripping column analysis
- Drying and humidification processes
- Membrane separation transport models
- Reactors with diffusion and reaction rates
- Cooling towers and evaporative systems
- Polymer processing heat and mass transfer
- Environmental dispersion models (intro)
- Process simulation tools (Aspen/HYSYS survey)
Biomedical and advanced transport
- Blood oxygenators and drug delivery transport
- Tissue engineering scaffold transport
- Nanoscale transport and Knudsen diffusion
- Electrokinetic transport in microchannels
- Transport in fuel cells and batteries
- CFD for coupled transport phenomena
- Scale-up from lab to plant
- Safety: leak, dispersion, and exposure limits
- Lab: diffusion, convection, and HT coupling
- Capstone transport design problem
Study units
Each unit includes a study guide, worksheets, review, practice test, and answer key. One unit is free; subscribe for the full class.
- Momentum transport
Shell momentum balances and stress tensors (intro)
Coming soon - Heat and mass transport
Fourier, Newton, and Fick's laws as analogs
Coming soon
Notes
Topics reflect common engineering syllabi at US colleges and universities. Exact order, depth, and applied emphasis vary by institution, department, and instructor.