Pressure measurement calculations in U - Tube and Inclined tube manometers using Microsoft Office Excel.

Pressure is defined as the force exerted per unit area. In Chemical, Mechanical and Civil Engineering works pressure measurement is important in determining the frictional losses, velocity ( Using Hagen Poiseuille equation), pipe line size, etc., Also the pressure difference will indicate the type of pump, compressor to be used in liquids and gases. In order to measure the pressure difference existing in a pipe, we can use a U -Tube manometer. The two ends of the U - Tube manometer are connected to pipe in such a way that one end will be at upstream and the other in stream. Due to the pressure difference in pipe the level in the manometer limbs will differ, we will use this difference for pressure drop calculation. For this type manometer , density of manometer liquid should be higher than the density of liquid in pipe.U- tube manometer is used for normal pressure difference calculation in pipelines.

Where as inclined tube manometer is used for measuring small differences in pressure, here enlargement is provided in the vertical leg so that the movement of meniscus in the enlargement is negligible within the operating range of the instrument.
You can Download the pressure difference calculation Excel sheet here. It includes pressure conversion feature.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6g2qu2umjn4w86r/U-tube%20manometer.xlsx

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Use of Microsoft Office Excel in Chemical engineering calculations.

In Chemical engineering, people need to solve lot of problems in the process calculations. If done by manual method these calculations consume more time and often creates confusion. On the other hand we can use simulation software to solve small material balance  to mighty design calculations, but they are too expensive to install for personal use. Even though some free simulation software are available, they are restricted to some calculations only. Then what is the solution? Here comes Microsoft Office Excel. In Microsoft Excel you can perform small arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, blah blah . to complex problems like iterations for a required case.

Microsoft Excel is equipped with some predefined functions along with charts (includes line,bar,pie charts,etc.,) which are very helpful to solve the process calculations. For example cost of production can be compared between different process by using charts for a given compound. You can also define your own function in Excel if you know VBA (Visual Basic Application) programming, which can reduce your hectic work considerably. Microsoft Excel can handle lot of information which can be compiled for the given instructions. This is particularly useful in doing the material balance calculations in stream wise across different sections like reactor, columns, strippers, etc.,
A lot of predefined and calculated excel sheets are available in internet. Here are some useful websites.

1. http://www.chemsof.com/
2. http://excelcalculations.blogspot.in/p/chemical-engineering-calculations.html
3. http://www.mycheme.com/category/spreadsheets/

Invest your time in learning excel and  you can easily solve complex problems in Microsoft Office Excel.
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