Fluid Mechanics

By Prof . Sanjay Mittal | IIT Kanpur

Learners enrolled: 2029 | Exam registration: 305

ABOUT THE COURSE:

This course introduces the basic concepts of Fluid Mechanics and applies them to Engineering Applications. We begin with application of mass and force balance laws for fluid flows. The important parameters are identified using dimensional analysis and their application in similitude and modeling is demonstrated. Applications to various flow situations such as sports balls are undertaken to understand the concepts

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Undergraduate Students pursuing Aerospace Engineering/Mechanical Engineering. Students preparing for GATE

PREREQUISITES: First year Math Courses

Summary

Course Status :	Ongoing
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Aerospace Engineering Mechanical Engineering Computational Thermo Fluids Propulsion
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	19 Jan 2026
End Date :	10 Apr 2026
Enrollment Ends :	02 Feb 2026
Exam Registration Ends :	20 Feb 2026
Exam Date :	25 Apr 2026 IST
NCrF Level	4.5 — 8.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Introduction to Fluid Mechanics and its diverse applications; The continuum hypothesis and property; The Stress tensor

Week 2: Fluid statics; Fluid Kinematics - Lagrangian and Eulerian descriptions, Steady vs unsteady flows, Graphical description of flows

Week 3: Kinematics continued: Rate of deformation of a fluid element, Vorticity and angular rotation, strain rate tensor, decomposition of velocity gradient into shear strain rate and rotation. Constitutive model for a Newtonian Fluid; Reynolds Transport Theorem; Conservation of mass – integral and differential form

Week 4: Integral and differential form of force balance, Application to various flows; Boundary and interface conditions

Week 5: Exact solution to flow equations - flow between two parallel plates, Flow in a pipe of circular section, Reynolds experiments to demonstrate transition to turbulence

Week 6: Integral Form of Total Energy Equation and its applications to ducted fan and wind-tunnel, Bernoulli Equation

Week 7: Application of Bernoulli Equation to flow measurements: venturi meter, orifice meter, flow nozzle; Similitude and Modeling, Non-dimensional parameters, Application to testing

Week 8: Flow in a pipe, Entrance Length, Laminar and turbulent flows, surface roughness, friction factor, losses

Week 9: Flow regimes and approximations; low Reynolds number flows; High Reynolds number flows, Concept of Boundary Layer

Week 10: Inviscid flows, Potential flows, Superposition of simple flows

Week 11: Flow past a cylinder – potential flow vs real flow; flow separation; Streamlined vs Bluff bodies;Turbulent vs Laminar Boundary Layer

Week 12: Flow past Spinning Cylinder, Lift generation, Fluid dynamics of sports balls

Books and references

F.M. White, “Fluid Mechanics,” Tata McGraw Hill, 2011
R. W. Fox, P. J. Pritchard and A. T. McDonald, “Introduction to Fluid Mechanics”, Wiley, 8th Edition, 2011
V. Gupta and S.K. Gupta, “Fluid Mechanics and its Applications”, New Age International Publishers, 3rd Edition, 2016

Instructor bio

Prof . Sanjay Mittal

IIT Kanpur

Professor Sanjay Mittal received his undergraduate education in Aeronautical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India. He went to the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA for his graduate education. Presently, he is a Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India. His research interests include fluid-structure interactions, flow-induced vibration, bluff body flows, aerodynamic shape optimization, shock-boundary layer interactions, high performance computing, modeling of traffic flow, sports aerodynamics and low speed wind-tunnel testing. He is passionate about teaching, and received the Excellence-in-Teaching Award and the Gopal Das Bhandari Distinguished Teacher Award from his Institute. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Sciences. He received the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in Engineering Sciences, in 2006

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: April 25, 2026 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Kanpur .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team

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