Can Calculus be Applied to Air Conditioning?

[juicev85]

i am trying to come up with a project that relates calculus and air conditioning/ heating. I work for an air conditioning company and I am taking a Calculus course in college and we are supposed to do a project that outlines a practical application for calculus. I was thinking perhaps calculus has something to do with the load calcs or something if anyone has any suggestions or where I could get some literature on the subject.

 

[FredGarvin]

You might have an easier time getting into the flow of air in duct work instead of the thermodynamics/psychometric end of things. Have you studied any thermo or fluid mechanics?

Have you covered both differential and integral calc? How about any vector calculus? Knowing what you have covered will help with the suggestions you receive.

 

[juicev85]

I have limited experience in thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. I have covered both differential and integral calculus. i have not done any vector calculus.

any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[enigma]

Uhm... how much needs to be real, and how much of the model can be made up?

How about coming up with some equations (either real or just ballparked for the sake of simplicity) which describe the heat load on a building from the sun over the course of the day. You could then size the HVAC to handle the loads.

 

[juicev85]

That sounds great! Can you give me some hints as to where I can start as far as the equations. How would I find literature or websites for research relating to that.

 

[Rocketa]

Try ASME website or engineering index.

In order to do research, you need to have some web access. You should be able to get access from a university library.

 

[enigma]

I'm sure that there are heating load equations in structural design manuals or local code books.