Guide
Material & Energy Balances
A Steady-State Mixing Balance with Two Inlet Streams
At steady state, a mixer that combines two inlet streams obeys two balances: total mass in equals total mass out (P = F1…
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Luis J. Gillespie
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32 RESOURCES
Resources
Guide
Process Equipment
Process Equipment Calculations: Scope, Inputs, and Estimation Methods
Process equipment calculations convert a process design into defined hardware: performance sizing, mechanical sizing, and cost estimation for pumps, heat exchangers, columns, vessels,…
Guide
Heat Transfer
How to Calculate Sensible Heat Duty from Mass Flow and Heat Capacity
Sensible heat duty is calculated as Q̇ = ṁ·cp·ΔT: mass flow rate multiplied by specific heat capacity multiplied by temperature change, giving a…
Guide
Fluid Flow
Reynolds Number Explained for Internal Pipe Flow
The Reynolds number (Re) compares inertial to viscous forces in a flowing fluid and predicts whether pipe flow will be laminar or turbulent:…
Guide
Material & Energy Balances
Choosing a Calculation Basis for a Material Balance
A calculation basis is the reference quantity — an amount of material such as 100 kg, or a time interval such as one…
Guide
Material & Energy Balances
How to Write Assumptions for an Engineering Calculation
Every engineering calculation rests on assumptions. Write each one explicitly and separately, give it a stated basis, quantify it where possible, and record…
Guide
Engineering Units
Temperature vs Temperature Difference: Celsius, Kelvin, and Fahrenheit
A temperature is a position on a scale whose zero may be an arbitrary convention; a temperature difference is a change with a…
Guide
Thermodynamics & Properties
Vapor–Liquid Equilibrium: Raoult’s Law, Non-Ideality, and Diagrams
Vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) is the steady, equal-rates coexistence of a liquid mixture and its vapor, with the two phases generally having different compositions.…
Guide
Heat Transfer Calculations: Heat Duty, LMTD, and Exchanger Area
Heat exchanger sizing links three quantities in one equation: the duty Q = U·A·ΔT, where the temperature difference is the log mean of…
Guide
Fluid Flow Calculations: Velocity, Reynolds Number, and Pressure Drop
Pipe-flow calculations chain three quantities: the mean velocity from the continuity equation, the Reynolds number that fixes the flow regime, and the friction…