Numerical Calculations for Process Engineering Using Excel VBA

Numerical Calculations for Process Engineering Using Excel VBA provides numerical treatment of process engineering problems with VBA programming and Excel spreadsheets. The problems are solving material and energy balances, optimising reactors and modelling multiple-factor processes. The book includes both basic and advanced codes for numerical calculations. The basic methods are presented in different variations tailored to particular applications. Some macros are combined with each other to solve engineering problems. Examples include combining the bisection method and binary search to optimise an implicit correlation, combining golden section search with Euler’s method to optimise a reactor and combining bisection code and Euler’s method to solve steady-state heat distribution. The text also includes nonconventional examples such as harmony search and network analysis. The examples include solutions to common engineering problems such as adiabatic flame temperature, plug flow reactor conversion, batch reactor, heat diffusion and pinch analysis of heat exchanger networks. The VBA code is presented with mathematical equations and flowcharts, enabling the audience to adopt the solutions to different problems. The book contains many demonstrations of numerical techniques to guide users. It also includes useful summaries of VBA commands/functions and Excel-predefined functions accessible in VBA.

While the book is developed primarily for undergraduate students, the book is a helpful resource for postgraduate students and engineers.

Chi M. Phan (PhD, BEng) has taught in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Curtin University for over 15 years. He has taught classes in process analysis, process calculations, process modelling and simulations. In addition to Curtin University, he taught at the University of Newcastle (Australia) and the University of Hyogo (Japan). He has developed many numerical models for his research in surface science.