Thermodyanmics with Maple
Date: July 18th (Thursday)
Time: 16:50-17:15
Abstract
Computer algebra systems (of which Maple is but one example)
have enormous potential, not just in thermodynamics, but in all
areas of science and engineering.
However, to be useful in thermodynamics a computer algebra
system needs:
- The ability to work with total differentials of undefined
functions, for example dS where S=S(U,V).
- To be able to work with the subscripted (indexed) partial
derivatives of thermodynamic functions found in many
thermodynamic formulae.
- The ability to differentiate undefined or arbitrary sums (a
summation where the upper limit is a symbol rather than a
number).
As far as the author is aware, none of the commercially
available computer algebra is able to do any of the above right
out of the box. In this paper we describe extensions to Maple
so that it can be used to rapidly develop the expressions needed
to compute thermodynamic properties of mixtures of any number of
components.
This paper also presents examples of thermodynamic computations
carried out using Maple with an emphasis on graphical
visualization of both symbolic and numerical results.
One of the advantages of using a computer algebra system is the
greatly increased accuracy of derivations of thermodynamic
properties and numerical computations. That is, students are
much more likely to get it right. On the debit side is a
possible decrease in the students ability to carry out such
derivations and computations by hand. Other advantages and
disadvantages of using a computer algebra package in
undergraduate education will also be discussed.
