An Alternative Route For Teaching Process Synthesis And Design

The present paper focuses on the combination of programming languages as an effective approach towards teaching process design concepts. The cornerstone for the success of this approach is the combination of widespread techniques, such as spreadsheets, with high-level languages as C or FORTRAN and object-oriented languages such as JAVA or Visual BASIC. This paper specifically demonstrates the combination of Microsoft Excel with FORTRAN programs, through a Visual BASIC interface. The popularity of spreadsheets makes them the ideal tools to illustrate nonlinear interrelations among different design variables in complex processes. These variables, however, are typically connected through a complex set of algebraic and differential equations, whose solution demands a robust numerical approach. Students are frequently distracted or frustrated in trying to deal with these difficulties. When these calculations are not essential to the process design principles being demonstrated, instructor-developed “black boxes” can be used to carry out cumbersome calculations in the background. This synergetic effect enables to highlight the most relevant process synthesis principles, while the student is kept away from the mathematical and numerical complexities involved in the solution of the problem. The case study presented serves to illustrate the effectiveness of a proper combination of programming techniques with conceptual design ideas.