THE FACT that most books on gas dynamics include separate tables for each simplified flow process casts a shadow of inadequacy over the conventional approach. Why is each process treated as though it were entirely unrelated to the others? Why isn't there, we asked, a generalized approach based on fundamental equations which act as progenitors for the specific equations of all the simplified flow processes, and which provide insight to more general flow processes? As our solution to the above dilemma, we present a complete treatment of one-dimensional gas dynamics, stressing a fundamental approach. A unified description of this subject is accomplished by means of a single numerical table applicable to the particular gas under study. Separate treatments for the various flow processes are thus combined into one all-encompassing analysis. These tables are intended for the large group of practicing engineers, of which we are members, who daily must solve routine problems in gas dynamics. Aero- dynamic, chemical, and mechanical engineers, as well as students of thermo- dynamics and gas dynamics, should find these tables useful. The book is divided into five parts.
In Chapter 1, we present a generalized compressible flow function r, which is shown to have direct application in the treatment of many simplified one-dimensional flow processes.