Computational Methods For The Solution Of Engineering Problems

The book is designed to serve as a textbook for courses offered to graduate and upper-undergraduate students enrolled in mechanical engineering. The book attempts to make students with mathematical backgrounds comfortable with numerical methods. The book also serves as a handy reference for practicing engineers who are interested in applications. The book is written in an easy-to-understand manner, with the essence of each numerical method clearly stated. This makes it easy for professional engineers, students, and early career researchers to follow the material presented in the book. The structure of the book has been modeled accordingly. It is divided into four modules: i) solution of a system of equations and eigenvalues which includes linear equations, determining eigenvalues, and solution of nonlinear equations; ii) function approximations: interpolation, data fit, numerical differentiation, and numerical integration; iii) solution of ordinary differential equations—initial value problems and boundary value problems; and iv) solution of partial differential equations—parabolic, elliptic, and hyperbolic PDEs. Each section of the book includes exercises to reinforce the concepts, and problems have been added at the end of each chapter. Exercise problems may be solved by using computational tools such as scientific calculators, spreadsheet programs, and MATLAB codes. The detailed coverage and pedagogical tools make this an ideal textbook for students, early career researchers, and professionals.

This book presents Maple solutions to a wide range of problems relevant to chemical engineers and others. Many of these solutions use Maple’s symbolic capability to help bridge the gap between analytical and numerical solutions. The readers are strongly encouraged to refer to the references included in the book for a better understanding of the physics involved, and for the mathematical analysis. This book was written for a senior undergraduate or a first year graduate student course in chemical engineering. Most of the examples in this book were done in Maple 10. However, the codes should run in the most recent version of Maple. We strongly encourage the readers to use the classic worksheet (*. mws) option in Maple as we believe it is more user-friendly and robust. In chapter one you will find an introduction to Maple which includes simple basics as a convenience for the reader such as plotting, solving linear and nonlinear equations, Laplace transformations, matrix operations, ‘do loop,’ and ‘while loop. ’ Chapter two presents linear ordinary differential equations in section 1 to include homogeneous and nonhomogeneous ODEs, solving systems of ODEs using the matrix exponential and Laplace transform method. In section two of chapter two, nonlinear ordinary differential equations are presented and include simultaneous series reactions, solving nonlinear ODEs with Maple’s ‘dsolve’ command, stop conditions, differential algebraic equations, and steady state solutions. Chapter three addresses boundary value problems.

Computational Methods in Engineering Boundary Value Problems

Computational Methods in Engineering: Finite Difference, Finite Volume, Finite Element, and Dual Mesh Control Domain Methods provides readers with the information necessary to choose appropriate numerical methods to solve a variety of engineering problems. Explaining common numerical methods in an accessible yet rigorous manner, the book details the finite element method (FEM), finite volume method (FVM) and importantly, a new numerical approach, dual mesh control domain method (DMCDM). Numerical methods are crucial to everyday engineering. The book begins by introducing the various methods and their applications, with example problems from a range of engineering disciplines including heat transfer, solid and structural mechanics, and fluid mechanics. It highlights the strengths of FEM, with its systematic procedure and modular steps, and then goes on to explain the uses of FVM. It explains how DMCDM embodies useful parts of both FEM and FVM, particularly in its use of the control domain method and how it can provide a comprehensive computational approach. The final chapters look at ways to use different numerical methods, primarily FEM and DMCDM, to solve typical problems of bending of beams, axisymmetric circular plates, and other nonlinear problems. This book is a useful guide to numerical methods for professionals and students in all areas of engineering and engineering mathematics.