Math 1210 Matthew Aamodt

Pipeline Project 7/17/14

Costs:
Materials, Labor, Fees (BLM ground) - $500.000
Drilling through mountain(one time)- $2,000,000
Environmental impact study(mountain)- $320,000
4 month delay for study(mountain)- $12,000 /month
Right-of-way fee (private ground)- $350,000/mile

a) Strictly on BLM ground
i) West, South, and then East to the refinery


5 miles


15 miles Private Ground


40 miles
Cost calculation
= Pipeline(west) + Pipeline(south) + Pipeline(east) =
() () () ()
()
()
Cost: $30,000,000



ii) East through mountains and South to the refinery




5 miles


15 miles Private Ground


40 miles
Cost calculation
= Drill Cost + Pipeline(mountain) + Pipeline(south) + environmental Study + labor days
() () () ()
()
()
Cost: $27,800,000







b) Through Private ground
i) Shortest distance from well to refinery


5 miles


15 miles C
Private Ground

5 miles 35 miles
40 miles
Cost Calculation
= Pythagorean theorem to find hypotenuse length

() ()
()
Cost: $36,312,015.92




ii) Directly South through private ground, then directly East to refinery


5 miles


15 miles
Private Ground


5 miles 35 miles

Cost Calculations
= Pipeline(south) + Pipeline(east)
() () ()
()
()

Cost: $30,250,000






c) Optimal place to run pipeline for minimal cost.



5 miles


15 miles C
Private Ground


x 35 - x

Cost Calculations
= C + 35 x

() ( )

() (

)
Optimal equation
() (

) ( )
() (

)
To find the optical cost we needed to find the absolute minimum of the cost function.
To do that we took the derivative of the function to find the critical points were the cost function
has a slope of 0.

() [

]
Set equation to 0 to find the roots where the slope is 0,

()

10.9109451

- +
Decreasing Slope Increasing Slope
[

()

()]
[

()

()]
Therefore, we can now say at x = 10.9109451 there is an Absolute Minimum point for this Cost Function.
()

()

()

Cost: $27,810,795.31
d) () (

)
Cost










(10.9109451 , 27,810,795.31)








Distance for bass of triangle formed by angle
Total Costs for each scenario:
i) West, South, and then East to refinery
$30,000,000
ii) East through mountains and South to the refinery
$27,800,000
iii) Shortest distance from well to refinery
$36,312,015.92
iv) Directly South through private ground, then directly East to refinery
$30,250,000
v) Optimal place to run pipeline for minimal cost
$27,810,795.31
As you can see, we have established that drilling through the mountain will be the most cost
effective. We will have a delay in initial start of the project, but the cost will be $10,795.31
cheaper than running the Pipeline through private ground at the most optimal cost of
$27,810,795.31. The cost of the project will be a total of $27,800,000. In the previous pages I
have shown the calculation of how we came to this solution.


Reflection
Calculus is such a useful tool in real life situations. It can help us find the best use of material,
funds, time, etc All companies push for this. If I am working for an Engineering firm that
mines copper and runs the machinery to create the copper, we can use calculus to find the
amount of time to run the machines vs the energy needed to create the copper. We could also
evaluate cost of creating the copper vs cost of paying the workers to be there. Using calculus will
allow us to optimize any calculations that we have.
I have learned about optimizing calculations and how to use them in a way to profit the
company. I am studying to be a Mechanical Engineer and will be using calculus and derivatives
for many years to come. I will use it for calculations of optimal use of materials, time, and
money to profit the company, along with calculations for security and use of the project
outcomes.