Transport Processes Course | NPTEL | Chemical Engineering | Prof. V. Kumaran IISc
Course Details
| Exam Registration | 9 |
|---|---|
| Course Status | Ongoing |
| Course Type | Core |
| Language | English |
| Duration | 12 weeks |
| Categories | Chemical Engineering, Minor 3 in Chemical |
| 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 | 19 Apr 2026 IST |
| NCrF Level | 4.5 — 8.0 |
Unlock the Fundamentals of Material Transformation with Transport Processes
Are you a chemical, biochemical, or materials engineering student looking to build a rock-solid foundation in one of the core pillars of your discipline? The NPTEL course Transport Processes, taught by the eminent Prof. V. Kumaran from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, is your gateway to mastering the principles that govern how materials move, heat transfers, and reactions occur. This detailed 12-week program is meticulously designed to bridge the gap between fundamental physical concepts and their critical applications in industrial design and operation.
Meet Your Instructor: Prof. V. Kumaran
Learning from an expert shapes your understanding. This course is led by Prof. V. Kumaran, a distinguished scholar with an impeccable academic pedigree. He completed his B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT Madras and earned his PhD from Cornell University, USA. Following postdoctoral research at UC Santa Barbara, he joined IISc Bangalore, where he is now a Professor. His deep research expertise in fluid mechanics, statistical mechanics, and complex fluids directly informs this course, providing you with insights from the forefront of the field.
Who Should Take This Course?
This course is perfectly tailored for:
- BE/B.Tech 3rd Year Students in Chemical, Biochemical, or Materials Engineering.
- Students pursuing a Minor in Chemical Engineering.
- Professionals in industries involving material transformations (e.g., pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, metallurgy) seeking to strengthen their core knowledge.
What You Will Learn: Course Overview
Transport Phenomena is the study of momentum, heat, and mass transfer. It is the language of chemical engineering, essential for designing everything from microfluidic devices and biomedical systems to large-scale chemical reactors. This course will guide you from the basic building blocks to advanced applications.
The journey begins with dimensional analysis, a powerful tool for simplifying complex problems and scaling processes. You'll then delve into dimensionless groups and correlations for momentum, heat, and mass transfer, which are the workhorses of engineering design. The core of the course involves deriving and solving unidirectional transport equations in various coordinate systems, followed by exploring pressure-driven flows, including the complexities of laminar and turbulent flow in pipes.
Detailed 12-Week Course Layout
Here is a module-by-module breakdown of what you will study:
| Week | Module Focus | Key Topics Covered |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Dimensions, Units & Dimensional Analysis | Fundamentals, settling spheres, Brownian diffusion, torque, mass transfer to particles. |
| 3 | Correlations: Momentum Transfer | Flow past flat plates, drag coefficients, packed columns, mixing operations. |
| 4-5 | Correlations: Heat & Mass Transfer, Diffusion | Colburn analogy, Peclet number regimes, natural convection, diffusion in gases/liquids. |
| 6 | Diffusion, Dispersion & Unidirectional Transport | Thermal/momentum diffusion, turbulent & Taylor dispersion, shell balances. |
| 7-9 | Unidirectional Transport: Steady Solutions & Correlations | Cartesian coordinates, internal sources (viscous heating, reactions), binary diffusion, forced/natural convection correlations. |
| 10 | Unidirectional Transport: Cylindrical & Spherical Coordinates | Balance equations, steady conduction, heat transfer resistance. |
| 11-12 | Pressure-Driven Flow | Laminar & turbulent flow in pipes, friction factors, turbulence structure, Bernoulli equation applications. |
Prerequisites & Industry Relevance
To succeed, you should be comfortable with undergraduate mathematics, linear algebra, and ordinary differential equations. A course like Engineering Mathematics I is excellent preparation.
The knowledge gained is directly applicable in industry support from companies involved in process design and operation for material transformations—think sectors like chemicals, energy, biotechnology, and advanced materials.
Primary Textbook
The course is based on Prof. Kumaran's own authoritative text: V. Kumaran, Fundamentals of Transport Processes, Cambridge-IISc Series, Cambridge University Press, 2022. This ensures perfect alignment between lectures, assignments, and reference material.
Why Enroll in This Transport Processes Course?
- Foundational Knowledge: Build an unshakable understanding of core chemical engineering principles.
- From Concept to Application: Learn the progression from physical laws to mathematical solutions and real-world industrial predictions.
- Pathway to Advanced Study: Create a strong base for future courses in advanced fluid mechanics, multiphase flows, and turbulence.
- Learn from the Best: Benefit from the structured pedagogy of an IISc professor renowned in his research field.
Ready to decode the motion of matter and energy? Enroll in the NPTEL Transport Processes course today and take a significant step toward mastering the engineering of transformations.
Enroll Now →