Fluid Mechanics Computer Project for Mechanical Engineering Students

Abstract

The curriculum in the Mechanical Engineering (ME) Department at Florida Atlantic University contains a course entitled ‘Computer Applications in ME’. The software package used in the course is Matlab. Students are required to complete approximately seven projects during the semester. Each project involves the use of at least one built-in math solver (solving a system of linear equations, obtaining the roots of a transcendental equation, solving a system of ordinary differential equations, etc.). The last project involved determining the volume flow rate a pump would deliver to a closed tank as a function of time. The pump characteristic curve (H vs Q) was taken from a pump manufacturer's catalog. The project required the use of several built-in math functions in Matlab. A description of this computer project is given in this paper.