Engineering Calculations
- Video links go directly to the YouTube video.
- JTF (Just the Facts) videos are the streamlined versions: greenscreen LaTeX equations, clean graphics, minimal narrative. Think efficient and to the point. Each has a companion TFS video.
- TFS (The Full Story) videos include interviews, additional explanation, and equations written on whiteboards. Same math, more context, more personality. Each has a matching JTF version.
- Info Page links lead to definitions, expanded explanations, and related material—because sometimes you really do need to explain it.
- Visuals links contain the greenscreen or whiteboard materials used in the video, for those who like to see the scaffolding.
- Wondering about the titles? See Appendix B: If you have to explain it, it’s no longer funny.
- Videos marked This is NOT a DOFPro video were not produced by DOFPro but are included because they are relevant to the topic. They are shown in red so no one calls the academic integrity police.
Why Engineering Calculations
While engineering design is the fundamental activity of engineers, the discipline itself is highly quantitative. Processes must be modeled and optimized. Lengths, masses, flow rates, and temperatures must be specified. Calculation procedures must be performed correctly to produce the designs and artifacts that are the output of the design process.
Many common engineering presentation and calculation tasks are presented in the following videos.
Data Visualization
The field of data visualization is too vast to explore in depth here. The videos linked below provide an introduction to the field and explore linear, semi-log, and log-log plots as a means to quickly determine the best functional form for a model for a set of data. They also briefly introduce nonlinear data fitting.
These topics are also explored in the statistics videos on linear and nonlinear regression, and in the videos further down this page. Some overlap is unavoidable in a collection of videos.
Is Your Process Data Spread Smooth or Chunky? Just the Facts
Data Visualization, linear and log coordinates
Video, Info Page, Visuals
Is Your Process Data Spread Smooth or Chunky? The Full Story
Data Visualization, linear and log coordinates
Video, Info Page, Visuals
Interpolation
In spite of the widespread use of computers and specialized applications, it is likely that an engineer will occasionally need to interpolate, or find a non-tabular value in a printed or online data table.
Interpolation methods are introduced in the videos listed below.
Interpol Is Late to a Mind-Blowing Math Hack, Just the Facts
Linear Interpolation
Video, Info Page, Visuals
Interpol Is Late to a Mind-Blowing Math Hack, The Full Story
Linear Interpolation
Video, Info Page, Visuals
No Clear Interpretation a Mind-Blowing Math Hack
Nonlinear Interpolation
Video, Info Page, Visuals
Spreadsheets
There are many excellent commercial and open-source tools for performing engineering calculations. One of the most versatile and underutilized tools is the spreadsheet. Even companies and organizations that cannot afford commercial CAD or mathematical modeling tools will almost always have an office suite that contains a spreadsheet.
There are many free and open-source spreadsheets, such as LibreOffice Calc, Apache OpenOffice Calc, and Gnumeric.
The videos below explain how to perform several common engineering calculations used in chemical and thermal processing.
The Unauthorized Guide to Using Spreadsheets in Chemical Engineering
Spreadsheet Basics
Video, Info Page, Visuals
How to Have a Quickie with Your Data Part 1
\(\bar{x}\), \(S_{\bar{x}}\), Linear Least Squares
Video, Info Page, Visuals
How to Have a Quickie with Your Data Part 2
Nonlinear least squares
Video, Info Page, Visuals
Solving Nonlinear Equations with Spreadsheets
See Title
Video, Info Page, Visuals