2

PRACTICAL NUMERICAL METHODS

Chapter 2 Excel Practice Problems

Use Excel and VBA to solve the following problems. Document your solutions using the Expert Problem
Solving steps outlined in Table 1.2.

1. Often, the best way to learn a new software application is simply to try it. Click through the various
Excel features shown on the ribbon tabs at the top of an Excel worksheet. Make a list of the top 10 that
you find helpful for engineering problems solving. Include a short description of each feature and a
simple example.
2. Perform the following calculations and report the correct number of significant figures in the results.

12.2 569.08 36 0.00768

678.98 23.4567 9.5
2490 363
12300

15.6 1012 exp

1.98 567
log 23 36 2

Answers: 545, 0.0013, 2.72x108, 2

3. Use the following Chen-Othmer Equation to estimate the diffusivity of gas species CO2 (A) in air (B)
at 2.0 atm pressure and 303 K temperature (use DIPPR or another reference for the molecular properties):
0.1498T 1.81

D AB

P TCATCB

0.1405

1
1

M A MB

0.4
CA

0.4
VCB

where
DAB = diffusion coefficient, cm2/s
T = temperature, K
P = pressure, atm
MA, MB = molecular weight of A and B, g/mol
TCA, TCB = critical temperatures of A and B, K
VCA, VCB = critical molar volumes of A and B, cm3/mol

Answer: 0.84 cm2/s

4. Rosin, Rammler, and Intelmann derived an equation for determining the minimum particle diameter
that can be captured by a gas cyclone:

d min

9 B
NV s

where
dmin = minimum particle diameter, m
= gas viscosity, kg/m s
B = width of rectangular cyclone inlet duct, m
N = number of turns made by the gas stream in the cyclone
V = average cyclone inlet velocity, m/s

PRACTICE PROBLEMS

s = density of solid particles, kg/m3

= density of gas, kg/m3
Calculate the width of the duct to capture a particle with diameter 10-5 m for an inlet gas velocity of
15 m/s, and the number of turns is 8, s = 1500 kg/m3, = 3.0x102 kg/m3, = 1.3x10-5 kg/m s.

Answer: 0.4 m
5. The heat transfer coefficient for heat transfer by a fluid to helical coils in a vessel mixed with a paddle
agitator is given by the following Equation:
L2 N
hd i
0.87

0.62

cp

0.33

0.14

where
h = heat transfer coefficient outside of coil, W/m2 K
di = inside vessel diameter, m

k = thermal conductivity of fluid, W/m K

L = diameter of agitator, m
N = speed of agitator, rps
= density of fluid, kg/m3
= fluid viscosity, kg/m s
w = water viscosity, kg/m s
cp = specific heat of the fluid at constant pressure, J/kg K
Calculate the heat transfer coefficient if the vessel is filled with benzene at 100F. The internal diameter of the vessel is 5.32 ft, the diameter of the paddle agitator is 3.64 ft, and turns at 80 rpm (See
DIPPR or another reference for properties of benzene and water at 100F).

Answer: 1300 W/m2 K

6. The height of a liquid in a column of mercury is 2.493 ft. Assume the density of mercury is 848.7
lb/ft3 and atmospheric pressure is 2116 lbf/ft2. Use unit conversions to calculate the gauge pressure in
lbf/ft2 and the absolute pressure in lbf/ft2, atm, mm Hg, and Pa.

Answers: 2.116x103 lbf/ft2, 1 atm, 759.854 mmHg, 1.013x105 Pa

7. Pipes are manufactured in standard sizes or schedules (for wall thickness). Create a look-up table using
the worksheet function VLOOKUP.
Nominal Pipe Size/in

Inside Diameter/in

Capacity (U.S. gpm) at 1 ft/s velocity

1.049

2.690

2.067

10.45

3.068

23.00

4.026

39.60

5.047

62.30

6.065

90.00

PRACTICAL NUMERICAL METHODS

Use the lookup table to determine the proper pipe size for the following flow rates at 1 ft/s: 10, 25, 90
gpm

Answers: 2 in, 4 in, 6 in

8. The price of a used car is $8,000. The dealer finance rate is 8.5% APR for four years with 10% down
payment. The bank finance rate is 7.8% for three years with 20% down payment. Calculate the monthly
payment for each loan (Hint: Formulas>FunctionLibrary>Financial>PMT).

Answers: Dealer = $197.19/month, Bank = $249.95/month

9. Use a t-test to determine if the mean value of the following two sets of measurements is the same within
95% confidence (null hypothesis). (Hint: Formulas/FunctionLibrary/MoreFunctions/Statistical).
Pooled standard deviation

xi xi x j x j
2

sp

n1 n2 1

s12 n1 1 s22 n2 1
n1 n2 2

Experimental t-statistic
texp

x1 x2
sp

n1n2
n1 n2

Alternatively, get a complete set of descriptive statistics from the DataTab>DataAnalysis>Descriptive

Statistics (Click the following commands: File>Addins>Manage:ExcelAddins>Go>AnalysisTool
Pack>Go).
A

179.738 179.864
179.707 179.611
179.731 179.537
179.722 179.903
179.745 179.543
179.731 179.661
179.749 179.544
179.705 179.653
179.512
179.683
Answer: t-stat = 1.59, t-crit = 2.12 confirms null hypothesis
10. Create a color contour plot of the butterfly function. Try a = 0.1, 1, and 10.
f x, y

x y
y 2 sin

a
x2 y2 a

11. Generate data and plot the following function between 0 x 6. Create two different scatter plots
with smooth lines using x intervals of 0.5 and 0.2.

f x x 2 e x sin 30 x
12. Find a root to the following function using GoalSeek.

PRACTICE PROBLEMS

x 3 1 5cos x
Answer: x = 1.314
13. Vapor pressure is commonly correlated with temperature using Antoines equation:
Pv
B
log
A

T C C
mmHg

(a) Plot the vapor pressure for acetone (A = 7.02447, B = 1161.0, C = 224) over the temperature
range 25 to 75oC.
(b) Will acetone boil at 50oC and ambient pressure? Explain.
(c) Find the normal boiling point for acetone using the Antoine equation.
Answers: (a) Plot the function; consider using Data Table (b) No (c) 56.2C
14. Create an Excel worksheet for calculating your grade point average (GPA). Use DataValidation tools
and MATCH, INDEX worksheet reference functions to assign numerical scores to letter grades.
15. A projectile is launched at an angle of 30 degrees from the horizontal with an initial velocity of
1.8107 cm/hr. The object strikes the top of a vertical wall. The base of the wall is a horizontal distance of 325 ft away. Calculate the height of the wall in yards. Use the following equations of motion. Use Excel to solve this problem and include units in your calculations.
Horizontal Travel:

x Vt cos( )

Vertical Travel:

y Vt sin 0.5 gt 2

where t is time and V is velocity. x and y are the horizontal and vertical positions of the projective.
The parameter g is gravity acceleration.
Answer: 34.5 yrd
16. Use the equations of motion from problem 15 to plot y versus x for the projectile.
17. Use the following equation and tabulated data for the vapor pressure of methanol in your calculations:
B

P exp A C ln T DT E
T

where P and T have units of Pa and K, respectively, and where A=82.718, B = -6904.5, C = -8.8622,
D = 7.4664x10-6, E = 2.
T/(K) P x 10-3/(Pa)
283.1

7.213

293.1

12.75

303.1

21.57

313.1

35.09

323.1

55.13

333.1

83.97

343.1

124.3

353.1

179.5

PRACTICAL NUMERICAL METHODS

Use the vapor pressure equation to generate a range of values for P over the temperature range 280 K T
360 K, with 5 K increments. Plot your results along with the data in an yx scatter plot following the
guidelines for graphing in Section 2.2.6. Plot pressure on the vertical axis and temperature on the horizontal axis. Use markers for the data and smooth lines for the values from the equation.
18. Refer to the Equation in Problem 17. Use GOALSEEK to find the temperature when P equals 40 kPa.
Use the worksheet function CONVERT to get the temperature in degrees F.
Answers: 315.81 K, 108.79 F
2

19. Plot the Stokes-Einstein equation for diffusivity (D) with units m /s versus temperature in an Excel
worksheet over the range 300 T 400 K. Use the following tabulated parameters.

Boltzmanns constant k 1.38x10-23 J/K

kT
3 d

Particle diameter

d 2.00x10-9 m

The viscosity (Pas) is a function of temperature according to the following equation.

exp 52.84

3704

5.866ln T
T

20. A vertical cylinder is filled with 5 g of ammonia gas (NH3) and capped by a movable piston. At a
temperature of 25 oC and pressure of 1 atm, the piston is 2 cm from the bottom of the cylinder. Find
(a) The volume of gas in the container
(b) The temperature of the gas when the piston is raised to 5 cm from the bottom by heating at constant pressure
Answers: Answers: V = 7.2 L, T = 745 K
21. The formula for the dimensionless Reynolds number for a fluid flowing in a round pipe is
Re = DV/
where D is the pipe diameter, V is the average fluid velocity, is the fluid density, and is the fluid
viscosity. Find the Reynolds number and type of flow for the following cases. Assume Re < 2100
for laminar flow and turbulent Re > 10000 for turbulent flow. Otherwise, the flow is in transition
from laminar to turbulent flow. Use an Excel IF function to determine laminar or turbulent flow. Remember to put quotations on text.
(a) Water flowing at 2.1 m/s through a schedule-40 steel pipe (D = 102.3 mm) at 20 oC
( = 998 kg/m3, = 9.82 x 10-4 Pa-s).
(b) Water flowing at 2.1 m/s through a schedule-40 steel pipe at 90 oC
( = 958 kg/m3, = 3.1 x 10-4 Pa-s).
(c) Honey flowing at 2.1 m/s through a schedule-40 steel pipe at 20 oC
( = 1400 kg/m3, = 10 Pa-s)
(d) Air flowing at 6.3 m/s through a round duct (D = 0.61 m) at 100 oC
( = 0.95 kg/m3, = 2.1 x 10-5 Pa-s)
Answers: (a) Re = 2.2x105, Turbulent (b) Re = 6.6x105, Turbulent (c) Re = 30, Laminar
(d) Re = 1.7x105, Turbulent
22. A well-mixed tank filled with 3000 liters of hot water is initially at 115 oF. The tank is cooled by
adding water with an inlet temperature, Tin = 35 oF, at a rate of 30 L/min. Water is removed from the
tank at the same rate. The energy balance around the water in the tank is

PRACTICE PROBLEMS

dT V
Tin T
dt V
(a) Calculate the tank water temperature, T, at 5-minute intervals for the first 60 minutes. Use Excels auto-fill feature.
(b) Plot the water temperature as a function of time using the results from (a).
(c) Calculate the time needed to cool the water tank to 100 oF.
(d) If the tank is not well mixed, explain whether your equation will predict a time that is too long or
too short.
Answer: (c) Time = 20.8 min
23. A common heuristic (rule of thumb) for water flowing in a pipe is that the average velocity should
be about 1 m/s. A pipe is needed to deliver 6,000 m3 of water per day. Calculate the inside pipe diameter in units of meters and inches. Use Excels CONVERT worksheet function.
Answers: Di = 0.3 m, 11.7 in
24. A 4 m diameter cylindrical storage bin has a conical bottom section. The total height of the bin (including cone) is constant at 10 m. The height of the cone is h = 3 m.
4m
10 m

(a) Calculate the volume of the cone, V, and angle of the cone, .
1
Vcone r 2 h
3

r h tan
(b) Calculate the volume of material in the bin when the level of material ranges from 0 to 5 m above
the bottom of the cone. Use the Excel if( ) worksheet function to generate the data.
(c) Plot the material volume versus level. Label both axes on the graph.
Answer: (a) Vcone = 12.6 m3, = 0.588 rad