Theories of Fluids with Microstructure: An Introduction

This book provides an introduction to theories of fluids with microstruc ture, a subject that is still evolving, and information on which is mainly available in technical journals. Several approaches to such theories, employ ing different levels of mathematics, are now available. This book presents the subject in a connected manner, using a common notation and a uniform level of mathematics. The only prerequisite for understanding this material is an exposure to fluid mechanics using Cartesian tensors. This introductory book developed from a course of semester-length lec tures that were first given in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Delaware and subsequently were given in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. The encouragement of Professor A. B. Metzner and the warm hospitality of the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware, where the first set of notes for this book were prepared (1970-71), are acknowledged with deep appreciation. Two friends and colleagues, Dr. Raminder Singh and Dr. Thomas F. Balsa, made helpful suggestions for the improvement of this manuscript. The financial support provided by the Education Development Centre of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, for the preparation of the manuscript is gratefully acknowledged.