Momentum, Heat, and Mass Transport

Three transport processes, one set of equations: learn momentum, heat and mass transfer together and each one gets easier.

Most textbooks teach momentum, heat, and mass transfer as separate subjects, forcing you to relearn the same mathematics three times. This book takes the unified approach that chemical engineers have always needed: start from shell balances and build velocity profiles yourself, then watch the same balance logic carry you through conduction resistances, fins, and transient response using Biot and Fourier numbers. Convection correlations arrive with their validity ranges attached, so you know when a number is defensible. You work boiling curves, condensation, radiation view factors, then size exchangers by both log-mean and effectiveness methods.

Mass transfer follows the same path: diffusivities, film theory, overall coefficients, then flash and distillation stages, packed-column transfer units, extraction, membranes, and drying. Worked examples stay on real equipment throughout, so every equation connects to a pump, a reboiler, a packed tower, or a heat exchanger you might actually specify. The result is a coherent framework that makes each new topic feel like a variation on a theme rather than a fresh mountain to climb.

What you will learn:

• How the transport analogy links momentum, heat, and mass transfer through shared shell-balance logic
• To derive laminar velocity profiles from first principles and extend them to turbulent flow, boundary layers, and friction factors
• Steady and transient conduction, including fins, Biot and Fourier numbers, and thermal resistance networks
• Forced and natural convection correlations with their validity ranges, so you can defend your choice of equation
• Boiling and condensation curves, radiation view factors, and heat exchanger sizing by LMTD and effectiveness-NTU methods
• Mass transfer fundamentals: diffusivities, film theory, and overall coefficients for interphase transfer
• Stage-wise separation: flash calculations, distillation stages, and the McCabe-Thiele approach
• Rate-based operations: packed-column transfer units, extraction, membranes, and drying
• How to apply every concept to real process equipment, from reboilers to packed towers

For chemical engineering students and process engineers who size thermal and separation equipment, this book is both a rigorous introduction and a working reference. If you want one text that builds your intuition from shell balances to equipment sizing, this is it.