Introducing DAE systems in Undergraduate and Graduate Chemical Engineering Curriculum

Authors

  • Ravi Kumar Mandela Clarkson University
  • L.N. Sridhar University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
  • Raghunathan Rengaswamy Texas Tech University

Abstract

Models play an important role in understanding chemical engineering systems. While differential equation models are taught in standard modeling and control courses, Differential Algebraic Equation (DAE) system models are not usually introduced. These models appear naturally in several chemical engineering problems. In this paper, the introduction of DAE systems in undergraduate and graduate curriculum is proposed through a simple reactive flash example. This is a useful chemical engineering example that combines the equilibrium and reaction concepts in a simple unit. This example can logically follow a flash example that is typically taught in the thermodynamics class. This example can also be included in a modeling or mathematical methods class.

Author Biographies

Ravi Kumar Mandela, Clarkson University

Ravi Kumar Mandela is a Ph.D. student in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY. He received his B.Tech form Andhra University, India, and M.S. from the University of Nevada, Reno, both in chemical engineering. His research interests are in the areas of Process Control and Nonlinear State Estimation.

L.N. Sridhar, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez

Dr. Sridhar is a professor at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. He received his Ph.D. from Clarkson University.

Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Texas Tech University

Raghunathan Rengaswamy is a professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at Texas Tech University. He received his B.Tech from IIT Madras and a Ph.D. from Purdue University, all in chemical engineering. He spent seven years as a faculty member at Clarkson, NY, and five years as a faculty member at IIT Bombay, India, prior to joining Texas Tech. His research interests are in the areas of Fuel Cells and Process Systems Engineering.

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Published

2010-01-01

Issue

Vol. 44 No. 1 (2010): Winter 2010

Section

Manuscripts