Problem Solving

One of the primary tasks for engineers is often solving problems. It is what they
are, or should be, good at. Solving engineering problems requires more than just
learning new terms, ideas and concepts, and using rules and physical laws. To
find out what engineering is really about, we must learn how to apply these
concepts and rules to real or hypothetical situations. Experience has shown that
this kind of learning cannot occur without practice. This means spending more
time working problems than reading the text.
It is common in engineering education to talk about the mathematics problem
i.e. the weakness in mathematics of students entering university engineering
education. Certainly the lack of fluency in specific mathematical techniques is an
obvious aspect of this problem, but the more serious aspect may be the lack of
understanding of problem solving processes. In fact, problem solving is more
than merely substituting numbers in a mathematical formula. We should begin by
studying the ideas, the concepts, and their relationships first. Then we should
attempt the problems as a way to find out whether or not we understand the
subject.

Problem Solving Process

In order to build a model and solve the problem, the following steps may be
followed:

1. Carefully identify what is given in the problem. This is an important step

because it makes things clear before attacking the problem. Read the entire
problem carefully. You may need to briefly write down the question using
symbols, make lists or tables of known and unknown information, and draw
a diagram of the physical situation.

2. Carefully identify the objective of the problem. This could be the most
important step, because it becomes the foundation for all the rest of the steps.
What is the problem asking you to solve or find? Sometimes the objective of
the problem is clear; some other times you need to lists the unknown
information in order to identify the objective.

3. Decide which mathematical tool best suits the problem. What are the
possible paths of solution to be followed? What are the processes involved?
What are the relationships involved? And, determine which path and process
promise the greatest likelihood of success. This step will help you build a
collection of analytical methods, many of them will work to solve the

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problem, and however, many others may not work. Also, one method may
produce fewer equations to be solved than another, or it may require less
mathematics than other methods.

4. Write equations and develop a model. After you decide on the method,
document the process very well by writing the equations to actually start
solving the problem.

5. Attempt a solution. Present detailed solution before putting real numbers

into equations. Paper-and pencil, calculator, and computer tools are all
available to pursue the solution.

6. Verify the solution. Is it realistic, expected, or not at all? Ask yourself

whether the solution you have obtained makes sense. Does the magnitude of
the answer seem realistic? You may want to rework the problem via an
alternative method to test the validity of your original answer. By doing so,
you develop your perception about the most efficient methods to solve the
problem. In real life, any design is checked by several independent means.
Acquiring the habit of verifying the answer will help you as a student and as
an engineer in the future.

7. Finally, if the solution is realistic, present the solution to your professor,

boss, or team members. If not, then return to step 3 and continue through the
process again.

It is important to know that although the above steps have been organized to
apply to engineering foundations types of problems, the problems to be solved
during one’s career will vary in complexity and magnitude.

Working Example
As an example of the general guidelines for problem solving, let us work a
sample problem.

Consider a tank that is used to store a liquid. Liquid can be let into the tank
through an inlet pipe at the top, and it discharges from the tank through an orifice
near the base. Such a situation occurs frequently in mechanical and chemical
engineering applications. Consider two cases for the flow through the orifice:
laminar and turbulent. What is the rate of outflow from the tank if the height of
the liquid is 0.5 m and the discharge coefficient is 0.7.
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Solution

By reading the problem carefully and drawing a diagram similar to Figure 1, we

will have covered steps 1 and 2.

Figure 1 A liquid storage system.

The basis of this approach to model building is that the equations which
constitute a model are not arbitrary mathematical entities, but have a consistent
physical basis. There are certain types of equation which describe different
aspects of a model. Knowledge of this helps to ensure that all equations are
written down. For step 3 we recall the relationship between the volumetric rate of
outflow Q measured in (m3/s) and the height of the liquid h measured in (m).

Q = Cd h (1)

where Cd is a constant of proportionality called the discharge coefficient. The

discharge coefficient is constant that depend on the shape of the orifice. It could
be a sharp-edged, a short flush-mounted tube, or a rounded orifice. In this
example, we have assumed that the volumetric flow rate of the liquid is
proportional to the height only, however, in practice the flow rate depends on the
pressure drop across the orifice, orifice cross-sectional area, and fluid density.
The dependent variable Q is a function of the independent variable h.
Therefore, the input function is the head h, the function rule is “multiply the input
by Cd”, and the resulting output is the flow rate Q. A graph of Q against h is
shown in Figure 2.
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Q = Cdh

Figure 2 A graph of Q and h relationship for a laminar flow.

If the flow through the orifice is turbulent then a different functional relationship
will exist between Q and h

Q = Cd h (2)

A graph of Q against h is shown in Figure 3.

Q

Q = Cd h

Figure 3 A graph of Q against h

Now in accord with step 5, we substitute the values and the units for the algebraic
symbols. For laminar flow

Q = 0.7 × 0.5 = 0.35 m 3 /s

For turbulent flow

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Q = 0.7 × 0.5 = 0.49 m 3 /s

The solution looks realistic! According to step 6, we may want to rework the
problem via an alternative method to test the validity of the answer.
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System of Units
A unit is a particular physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention, with
which other particular quantities of the same kind are compared to express their
value. A physical quantity is a quantity that can be used in the mathematical
equations of science and engineering. The value of a physical quantity is the
quantitative expression of a particular physical quantity as the product of a
number and a unit, the number being its numerical value. Thus, the numerical
value of a particular physical quantity depends on the unit in which it is
expressed. When making measurements, it is customary to record both the
quantity (how much) and the unit (of what). Science and technology depend
largely on the unit of measurement. For example, the value of the height h of
building is h = 120 m. Here h is the physical quantity, its value expressed in the
unit “meter,” unit symbol m, is 120 m, and its numerical value when expressed in
meters is 120.

The SI System of Measurement

A system of units is a class of units defined by composition from a base set of

units, such that every instance of the class is “standard” unit for a physical
dimension and every physical dimension has an associated unit. A measurement
of any physical quantity must be expressed as a number followed by a unit. A
unit is a standard by which a dimension can be expressed numerically. The units
for the fundamental dimensions are called the fundamental or base units. While
carrying out engineering calculations, there are several systems of base units that
are available. However, they may be broken into two main groups. First, the
International System of Units (also called SI, from the French “Système
International des Unités”) introduced by Griorgi in 1901, including the meter-
kilogram-second-ampere (MKSA) subsystem representing the four fundamental
dimensions length, mass, time, and electric current, respectively. Second is the
centimeter-gram-second (CGS) system. The units for other dimensions are
called secondary or derived units and are based on the above fundamental units.
The International System of Units has seven base units, several derived units
with special names, and many derived units with compound names. The seven
base units are the building blocks from which the derived units are constructed.
Each base unit is defined by a very precise measurement standard that gives the
exact value of the unit. The base units are not related to one other, no do they
depend on each other for their definition. The complete SI system involves units
and other recommendations, one of which is that multiple and submultiples of the
MKSA units be set in steps of 103 or 10-3. The base units SI units and
abbreviations are listed in Table 1.
The SI has tremendous advantages over previous systems because it uses a
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unique unit name for each physical quantity and it assigns a unique symbol for
each name. The SI is the standard system used in today’s scientific literature.

Table 1 The Seven Fundamental SI Units

Quantity Unit Abbreviation

Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Electric current ampere A
Temperature kelvin K
Luminous intensity candela cd
Matter mole mol

The SI derived units are formed from the previously defined SI base units. Table
2 lists many of the SI derived units used in electric and electronic circuits.

Table 2 SI Derived Units

Quantity Symbol Unit Unit Symbol

Angle θ radian rad
Capacitance C farad F
Conductance G siemens S
Electric charge Q coulomb C
Electromotive force E volt V
Energy, work W joule J
Force F newton N
Frequency f hertz Hz
Inductance L henry H
Power P watt W
Resistance R ohm Ω
Pressure p pascal Pa
Magnetic Flux φ weber Wb
Magnetic Induction B tesla T
Light Flux L lumen lm

The SI uses the decimal system to relate larger and smaller units to the basic
units, and employs prefixes to signify the various powers of 10. A list of prefixes
and their symbols is given in Table 3. These prefixes are very important in
engineering studies and are worth memorizing.
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Table 3 SI Prefixes

Metric Symbol Metric Prefix Value Power of Ten

T One Trillion Tera 1012
G One Billion Giga 109
M One Million Mega 106
K One Thousand Kilo 103
m One Thousandth Milli 10-3
µ One Millionth Micro 10-6
n One Billionth Nano 10-9
p One Trillionth Pico 10-12

Dimensional Analysis

Dimensional analysis is a technique used in checking an equation by establishing

the same dimension formula on each side of the equation, that is

Left hand side = Right hand side

Numbers with no units attached to them are dimensionless. A physical

requirement is that dimensional homogeneity hold that is both sides of an
equation have the same dimension.

Example 1

An airliner, initially at rest, undergoes a constant acceleration of 2 m/s2 down the

runway for 30 s before it lifts off. How far does it travel down the runway before
taking off? Prove the dimension of the distance.

Solution

The distance the airplane travels is given by

1 2
x = x0 + v0t + at
2

Where x0 is the initial distance the airliner traveled before t = 0. The direction of
acceleration is along the positive x axis. Assume x0 = 0, vo = 0, a = 2 m/s2, and t =
30 s.
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Solution

Using the values given above, the distance is

1
x =0+0+ × 2 m/s 2 × (30 s) 2 = 900 m
2

Hence the distance at the left hand side of the equation has the same dimension of
the right hand side that is meter (m).

Exercise 1

Which of the following are dimensionally correct (have dimensional

homogeneity)?

mv
F=
r
F = mgl
1 2
mgh = mv
2
p = mv
w = mg

Where m = mass, r = distance, g = gravitational acceleration, l = length, t = time,

v = velocity, F = force, and p = pressure.

Exercise 2

The viscous drag force of a fluid is found from the following formula

F = 6πηrv

Where r is the radius of the sphere, η is the viscosity of the fluid, and v is the
speed of the object with respect to the fluid. Find the dimension of η.