Page 58 - 48Fundamentals of Compressible Fluid Mechanics

20 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

understanding, and many are still used today. Therefore many referred to him as
the father of modern fluid mechanics. Ludwig Prandtl died in G¨ ottingen, Germany
on August 15th 1953.
Prandtl’s other contributions include: the introduction of the Prandtl num-
ber in fluid mechanics, airfoils and wing theory (including theories of aerodynamic
interference, wing-fuselage, wing-propeller, biplane, etc); fundamental studies in
the wind tunnel, high speed flow (correction formula for subsonic compressible
flows), theory of turbulence. His name is linked to the following:

• Prandtl number (heat transfer problems)

• Prandtl-Glauert compressibility correction
• Prandtl’s boundary layer equation

• Prandtl’s lifting line theory
• Prandtl’s law of friction for smooth pipes

• Prandtl-Meyer expansion fans (supersonic flow)

• Prandtl’s Mixing Length Concept (theory of turbulence)

1.3.5.7 E.R.G. Eckert
Eckert was born in 1904 in Prague,
where he studied at the German Insti-
tute of Technology. During World War
II, he developed methods for jet engine
turbine blade cooling at a research lab-
oratory in Prague. He emigrated to the
United States after the war, and served
as a consultant to the U.S. Air Force
and the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics before coming to Min-
nesota.
Eckert developed the under- Fig. 1.12: The photo of Ernst Rudolf George
standing of heat dissipation in relation to Eckert with the author’s family
kinetic energy, especially in compress-
ible flow. Hence, the dimensionless
group has been designated as the Eckert number, which is associated with the
Mach number. Schlichting suggested this dimensionless group in honor of Eckert.
In addition to being named to the National Academy of Engineering in 1970, He
authored more than 500 articles and received several medals for his contributions
to science. His book ”Introduction to the Transfer of Heat and Mass,” published in
1937, is still considered a fundamental text in the field.