Mathcad will be used throughout the course as an aid for solving equations, plotting trends, etc. Students should become familiar with either Mathcad or some similar mathematical program. Note that Professor Cimbala uses only Mathcad, so he is unable to help with Matlab, Mathematica, TKSolver, etc., but if students wish to use one of these programs instead, they are welcome to do so.

All students registered for the course can use their ID cards to gain entry to the ME PC lab, 24-hrs/day, 7 days/week to use Mathcad. Mathcad can also be accessed at most of the university's computer labs. Students should consult the bound copies of the Mathcad manual on reserve in the Engineering Library, or Mathcad's web site, www.mathsoft.com for additional information.

Here are some Mathcad example files that you may download. To download and use:

1. Click on the desired file.
2. Depending on your browser, whether from a PC or a Unix machine, and how it is configured, it will either launch Mathcad or prompt you as to whether you wish to open the file or save it onto disk.
3. If Mathcad exists on your machine, choose the option to open the file. (You may have to browse to find the correct application.)
Note: On some machines, Mathcad cannot already be running when this file is launched.
4. You can also right click on the desired file to see other options, such as saving the file to disk.
5. If Mathcad does not exist on your machine, choose the option to save the file to disk. You can then FTP it somewhere else to run the file.

General purpose examples:

• Sample_simple_set_of_simultaneous_equations.mcd - A simple example of how to solve three simultaneous equations numerically.
• numeric_simultaneous_equations.mcd - A more complicated example of how to solve two simultaneous equations numerically.
• symbolic_simultaneous_equations.mcd - An example of how to solve two simultaneous equations symbolically.
• simultaneous_equations_without_initial_guesses.mcd - A clever way to solve simultaneous equations without requiring initial guesses. The solution is a combination of symbolic and numerical approaches.
• sample_read_data.mcd - Shows how to read data from a text file into Mathcad, and then generate a plot of the data.
  Note: In order for this Mathcad worksheet to run properly, a text file must be downloaded also:
  To download this text file, click on it. If your browser opens it up, and it can be viewed, copy all of it, and insert it into a file, using your favorite editor. Name the file my_data_points.txt, and place it in the same directory as the mathcad worksheet. If your browser asks what to do with the file, save it as a text file in the mathcad worksheet directory.
  Here is the text file:
  my_data_points.txt

Examples from the ME 405 textbook:

• Example_1_9_Simple_runge_kutta_integration.mcd - Shows how to use Mathcad's Runge-Kutta routine to solve a simple ODE in standard form (Example 1.9 in the text).
• example_2_1.mcd - Shows how to generate the equations and how to plot the figure for Example problem 2.1 in the textbook (effect of emphysema on gas uptake).
• Runge_Kutta_body_burden_example.mcd - Uses Mathcad's Runge-Kutta routine to solve an ODE for body burden as a function of time (Example 2.4 in the text).
• Example_5_5.mcd - The clever outdoorsman - Shows how to generate the equations and plot for Example problem 5.5 in the ME 405 textbook (carbon monoxide concentration in a cabin with a faulty kerosene heater).
• Example_5_6.mcd - Renovated conference room - Shows how to generate the equations and plot for Example problem 5.6 in the ME 405 textbook (room with a new carpet and a non-steady volume flow rate).
• Terminal_velocity_calculation.mcd - Program to calculate the terminal settling velocity of a particle, using the equations of Chapter 8. The example is for air at STP, but the properties (P and T) of the air can be changed easily.
• Particle_trajectory_at_STP.mcd - Runge-Kutta program to calculate the trajectory of a particle, using the equations of Chapter 8. The example is for air at STP, with U_x = 1 m/s and U_y = 0 (i.e. freestream flow), but the air velocity field can be easily modified to be any function of x and y.