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The application of spreadsheets to the analysis and optimization of systems and processes in the teaching of hydraulic and thermal engineering
Author(s) -
Rivas A.,
GómezAcebo T.,
Ramos J. C.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
computer applications in engineering education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.478
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1099-0542
pISSN - 1061-3773
DOI - 10.1002/cae.20085
Subject(s) - computer science , thermal hydraulics , process engineering , industrial engineering , engineering drawing , software engineering , control engineering , systems engineering , engineering , thermodynamics , heat transfer , physics
This article shows the capability of current spreadsheets to define, analyze and optimize models of systems and processes. Specifically, the Microsoft spreadsheet Excel is used, with its built‐in solver, to analyze and to optimize systems and processes of medium complexity, whose mathematical models are expressed by means of nonlinear systems of equations. Two hydraulic and thermal engineering‐based application examples are presented, respectively: the analysis and optimization of vapor power cycles, and the analysis and design of piping networks. The mathematical models of these examples have been implemented in Excel and have been solved with the solver. For the power cycles, the thermodynamic properties of water have been calculated by means of the add‐in TPX (Thermodynamic Properties for Excel). Performance and optimum designs are presented in cases studies, according to the optimization criteria of maximum efficiency for the power cycle and minimum cost for the piping networks. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 14: 256–268, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20085