Numerical Methods for Solving Partial Differential Equations

A comprehensive guide to numerical methods for simulating physical-chemical systems 

This book offers a systematic, highly accessible presentation of numerical methods used to simulate the behavior of physical-chemical systems. Unlike most books on the subject, it focuses on methodology rather than specific applications. Written for students and professionals across an array of scientific and engineering disciplines and with varying levels of experience with applied mathematics, it provides comprehensive descriptions of numerical methods without requiring an advanced mathematical background.

Based on its author’s more than forty years of experience teaching numerical methods to engineering students, Numerical Methods for Solving Partial Differential Equations presents the fundamentals of all of the commonly used numerical methods for solving differential equations at a level appropriate for advanced undergraduates and first-year graduate students in science and engineering. Throughout, elementary examples show how numerical methods are used to solve generic versions of equations that arise in many scientific and engineering disciplines. In writing it, the author took pains to ensure that no assumptions were made about the background discipline of the reader.

• Covers the spectrum of numerical methods that are used to simulate the behavior of physical-chemical systems that occur in science and engineering
• Written by a professor of engineering with more than forty years of experience teaching numerical methods to engineers
• Requires only elementary knowledge of differential equations and matrix algebra to master the material
• Designed to teach students to understand, appreciate and apply the basic mathematics and equations on which Mathcad and similar commercial software packages are based

Comprehensive yet accessible to readers with limited mathematical knowledge, Numerical Methods for Solving Partial Differential Equations is an excellent text for advanced undergraduates and first-year graduate students in the sciences and engineering. It is also a valuable working reference for professionals in engineering, physics, chemistry, computer science, and applied mathematics.

George F. Pinder, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering with a secondary appointments in Mathematics and Statistics and Computer Science at the University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont. He is the author or co-author of ten books in numerical mathematics and engineering. Dr. Pinder is the recipient of numerous national and international honors and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.