An introduction to dimensional analysis for engineers: by J.F. Douglas. 134 pages, diagrams, 3 × 5 in. London, England, Sir Isaac Pitman, 1969. Price, $3.00 (approx.); £1.
✍ Scribed by Wai-Kai Chen
- Book ID
- 103085622
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1971
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 97 KB
- Volume
- 292
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0016-0032
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
What the author has written is mainly a guide to the engineering applications of dimensional analysis with illustrations drawn from all branches of mechanics, thermodynamics and electrical engineering. Presumably for this reason, the book is a brief, but well organized, introduction t#o dimensional analysis suitable for selfstudy or a quarter course at the junior or senior level. The content is standard for such a course (see, for example, H. E. Huntley, Dimensional Analysis, MacDonald, London, 1952), although it does include dimensional matrix. The book is arranged wit,h some thought to pedagogy: sections are brief and worked examples are plentiful. The first three chapters provide the background and motivation for the construction of relationships by dimensional reasoning. Buckingham's pi theorem and his proof, based on physical arguments, are reproduced in Chapter 4.
The proof put forward by Buckingham in his paper is not regarded as rigorous, but it probably would be of greater interest to engineers than to mathematicians. This is followed by a complete chapter of illustrations on the use of Buckingham's pi theorem which gives the reader a chance to appreciate the range of problems which can be handled by dimensional analysis and the degree of success with which it can be applied. The reader will thus be able to form his own opinion of the potentialities of the method.
An unusual feature is the interpretation of the physical significance of dimensional products and their uses. A list of dimensionless products, arranged in alphabetical order, together with their physical meanings, is given in au appendix. The determination of the form of the unknown function and the elimination