Numerical Method for Chemical Engineers (CHE-S309)

Assignment Sheet I
1. As shown in Fig. P5.4, the velocity of water, υ (m/s), discharged from a cylindrical tank
through a long pipe can be computed as

Where g = 9.81 m/s2, H = initial head (m), L = pipe length (m), and t = elapsed time (s).
Use Bi-Section Method with initial guesses of xl = 0 and xu = 4 m to determine the initial
head needed to achieve υ = 5 m/s in 2.5 s for a 4-m long pipe. In addition, use ea = 0.001.

2. According to Archimedes’ principle, the buoyancy force is equal to the weight of fluid
displaced by the submerged portion of the object. For the sphere depicted in Fig. Use
Newton Raphson method to determine the height, h, of the portion that is above water.
Employ the following values for your computation:
r = 1 m, ρs = density of sphere = 200 kg/m3, and ρw = density of water = 1000 kg/m3.
Note that the volume of the above-water portion of the sphere can be computed with

3. The root of the equation x = (1 / 2) + sin x by using the secant method with initial guess x0
= 0 and x1 = 1, and correct to six decimals.

4. Find the solution of given system using Guass Elimination method.

5. A civil engineer involved in construction requires 4800, 5800, and 5700 m3 of sand, fine
gravel, and coarse gravel, respectively, for a building project. There are three pits from
which these materials can be obtained. The composition of these pits is

How many cubic meters must be hauled from each pit in order to meet the engineer’s needs?
6. Determine the solution of the simultaneous nonlinear equations
y = −x2 + x + 0.75
y + 5xy = x2
Use the Newton-Raphson method and employ initial guesses of x = y = 1.2.

7. The following chemical reactions take place in a closed system

2A + B ⇌ C
A+D⇌C
At equilibrium, they can be characterized by

Where the nomenclature ci represents the concentration of constituent i. If x1 and x2 are

the number of moles of C that are produced due to the first and second reactions,
respectively, use an approach to reformulate the equilibrium relationships in terms of the
initial concentrations of the constituents. Then, solve the pair of simultaneous nonlinear
equations for x1 and x2 if K1 = 4 × 10−4, K2 = 3.7 × 10−2, ca,0 = 50, cb,0 = 20, cc,0 = 5, and
cd,0 = 10.

8. The following system of equations is designed to determine concentrations (the c’s in

g/m3) in a series of coupled reactors as a function of the amount of mass input to each
reactor (the right-hand sides in g/day):
15c1 − 3c2 − c3 = 3800
−3c1 + 18c2 − 6c3 = 1200
−4c1 − c2 + 12c3 = 2350
Solve this problem with the Gauss-Seidel method to εs = 5%.

9. The following data were gathered to determine the relationship between pressure and
temperature of a fixed volume of 1 kg of nitrogen. The volume is 10 m3.

Employ the ideal gas law pV = nRT to determine R on the basis of these data. Note that
for the law, T must be expressed in kelvins.

10. The population p of a small community on the outskirts of a city grows rapidly over a 20-
year period:

As an engineer working for a utility company, you must forecast the population 5 years
into the future in order to anticipate the demand for power. Employ an exponential model
and linear regression to make this prediction.

11. The following model applies to third-order chemical reactions in batch reactors
 where c = concentration (mg/L), c0 = initial concentration (mg/L), k = reaction rate
(L2/(mg2 d)), and t = time (d). Linearize this model and use it to estimate k and c0 based
on the following data. Develop plots of your fit along with the data for both the
transformed, linearized form and the untransformed form.

12. Use general linear least squares to find the best possible virial constants (A1 and A2) for
the following equation of state. R = 82.05 mL atm/gmol K, and T = 303 K.

13. The following data for the density of nitrogen gas versus temperature come from a table
that was measured with high precision. Use Newton Forward Interpolation method to
estimate the density at a temperature of 330 K. Employ this best estimate and inverse
interpolation to determine the corresponding temperature.

14. The specific volume of a superheated steam is listed in steam tables for various
temperatures.

Determine υ at T = 400oC.