Re: [PipingDesign] Re: Pressure Drop for Compressible Flow

On Jan 29, 2008, at 8:13 AM, sviswan@technip.com wrote:

> If you have not used Excel or any other spreadsheet, I would say,
> it is
> worth experimenting. Excel is not difficult to learn, one can learn
> it in
> about a weeks time, by self.

I've been using Excel for engineering calculations for about 20 years and a VisiCalc clone for 3 years before that. It's not only worth experimenting with, Excel (or any spreadsheet) is an extremely useful tool. The cell matrix format is a natural for engineering calculations, since it shows a process. You start with a few cells showing initial variables and walk through the calculation row by row showing intermediate results and a final answer. Adjacent columns show the effects of variations in problem assumptions. The table form is neat and orderly and will go into a word processing document without difficulty.

The biggest difficulty is keeping track of variables, since they appear as cell references in formulas. Once you get accustomed to the process, you can 'name' cells with the symbol used in the formula and change the cell references to the symbol for easier reading and checking.
Christopher Wright P.E. |"They couldn't hit an elephant at chrisw@skypoint.com | this distance" (last words of Gen.

.......................................| John Sedgwick, Spotsylvania