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A Web Based Solver For Compressible Flow Calculations

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Conference

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Publication Date

June 18, 2006

Start Date

June 18, 2006

End Date

June 21, 2006

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Web-Based Education

Tagged Division

Computers in Education

Page Count

14

Page Numbers

11.144.1 - 11.144.14

DOI

10.18260/1-2--403

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/403

Download Count

2046

Paper Authors

biography

Harish Eletem Lamar University

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HARISH ELETEM was a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Lamar University. He received his M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lamar University in 2005.

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biography

Fred Young Lamar University

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FRED YOUNG is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Lamar University. He received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Methodist University. He has published many technical papers and presented several papers at international conferences.

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biography

Kendrick Aung Lamar University

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KENDRICK AUNG is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Lamar University. He received his Ph.D. degree in Aerospace Engineering from University of Michigan in 1996. He is an active member of ASEE, ASME, AIAA and Combustion Institute. He has published over 50 technical papers and presented several papers at national and international conferences.

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Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

A Web-based Solver for Compressible Flow Calculations

Abstract

Compressible flow is an important subject in aerospace and mechanical engineering disciplines. This paper describes a web-base solver for carrying out compressible flow calculations. The main objective of the solver is to provide students with a software tool than can be used in the compressible flow course offered in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Lamar University. The solver has a graphical user interface (GUI) for ease of use and interactivity. The solver is capable of solving typical compressible flows such as isentropic flows, Rayleigh and Fanno flows, normal and oblique shock flows, and Prandtl-Myer expansion waves. The solver provides user with a host of input options to choose from: Mach number, area ratio, pressure ratio, etc. The output of the solver includes the text results as well as graphical plots.

Introduction

Fluid dynamics is a core subject for Mechanical, Aerospace, Civil, and Chemical engineering disciplines. Among many branches of fluid dynamics, compressible flow is an important subject for aerospace and mechanical engineering disciplines as it involves solving high speed air flows in situations such as flight of an airplane or aerodynamic drag of an automobile. In these flow situations, compressibility of the fluid must be taken into account as the density of the fluid cannot be considered a constant. Compressibility of fluid is very important in engineering applications involving flow through nozzles, diffusers, and flows in a scramjet engine.

One of the main obstacles in teaching fluid dynamics to undergraduate students is the lack of visualization and computational tools that enhance and improve learning process of the students. With the widespread availability of multi-media software and hardware tools, development and integration of 2- and 3-dimensional visualization tools and computational tools to the undergraduate fluid curriculum becomes necessary. Therefore, in order to improve the learning process of students, a variety of learning tools such as interactive and multimedia texts, multimedia videos and CD-ROMs, computational and experimental tools, have been developed and used by many educators teaching fluid and thermodynamics courses1-5. The development of Internet – specifically the World Wide Web (WWW) has led to unprecedented growth over the last decade in access to information. It offers many advantages: ease of use, quick access, low cost, available without the limitation of time or location, computer platform independent, and flexible in allowing students to control their learning pace. With the advent of JAVA programming language, which offers attractions like platform independence, and development of a single code for many different types of computers, engineering applications can be easily developed for the web.

Motivation and Need for the Solver

Proceedings of the 2006 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2006, American Society for Engineering Education

Eletem, H., & Young, F., & Aung, K. (2006, June), A Web Based Solver For Compressible Flow Calculations Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--403

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