June 24-28

June 24 and 25 – Today I started working on the fluid dynamics problem I was assigned. Jim gave me a run through of the pipe diagram that he made, and showed me the components that each symbol represented. I took some data down for each component and started doing research regarding the pressure drops across each component, and various other aspects that will go into solving this problem.

June 26 – Today I calculated the pressure drop across straight pipes and bends. I spent a bit of time working with the Darcy friction factor Colebrook equation in Mathematica; it is an implicit equation, and I tried to use Mathematica to solve it. I also reviewed the relationships of flow rate to pressure in pipes set up in parallel and series.

June 27 – I took the information I had gathered over the last few days, and organized it into an excel sheet. I also took a good amount of time calling several places for recommendations of optimal flow rate through the cooling system. However, Dr. Jones wound up telling me that I should look into this myself instead of calling manufacturers.