ME-261

Numerical Analysis
Topic – Numerical Integration, Numerical Differentiation, and
Solution of ODE by RK Method
1. Water exerts pressure on the upstream face of a dam as shown in Fig.1. The pressure can be characterized by:
𝑝(𝑧) = 𝜌𝑔(𝐷 − 𝑧)

where, p(z) is the pressure (Pa) exerted at an elevation z (m) above the reservoir bottom; ρ = 103 kg/m3, is the
density of water, g = 9.81 m/s2, is the gravitational acceleration, and D is the elevation (m) of water surface above
the reservoir bottom. According to this equation, pressure increases linearly with depth, as depicted in Fig. 1(a).
Omitting atmospheric pressure (because it works against both sides of the dam face and essentially cancels out),
total force ft can be determined by multiplying pressure times the area of the dam face (as shown in Fig. 1(b)).
Because both pressure and area vary with elevation, total force is obtained by evaluating the following integration:
𝑫
𝒇𝒕 = ∫ 𝝆𝒈𝒘(𝒛)(𝑫 − 𝒛)𝒅𝒛
𝟎

where w(z) is the width of the dam face (m) at an elevation z (Fig. 1(b)). Use Simpson’s rule to evaluate ft. Write
numerical solution with an accuracy of up to four decimal places.

Fig. 1. Water exerting pressure on the upstream face of the dam, (a) side view showing pressure increasing
linearly with depth, (b) front view showing the varying width of dam in meters.

2. Assuming that the drag is proportional to the square of the velocity, we can model the velocity of a falling object with
the following differential equation:

𝒅𝒗 𝒄𝒅
= 𝒈 − 𝒗𝟐
𝒅𝒕 𝒎
where v is the velocity (m/s), t is the time (s), g = 9.81 m/s2 is the gravitational acceleration, cd is a second order drag
coefficient (kg/m), and m is the mass of the falling object (kg). Determine the velocity at 1s of a 90-kg object with a
drag coefficient of 0.225 kg/m. Obtain your solution using the fourth-order RK method. [Take, dt = 1s]

3. For fluid flow over a heated surface, the heat transfer rate from the surface can be computed as,

𝒅𝑻
𝑸̇ = −𝒌𝑨
𝒅𝒚
where, 𝑄̇ = heat transfer rate (W), k = thermal conductivity (W/m K), T = temperature (K), y = distance normal to the
surface (m), and A = surface area (m2). The following measurements (given in the table below) are made for air flowing
over an isothermal flat plate kept at a temperature of 800C. The plate is 200 cm long and 50 cm wide.

y, m 0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10

T, oC 80 74.3 72 70.2 68.6 67.4

Use appropriate third order numerical differentiation scheme to determine the value of 𝑸̇ at the surface of the plate
if k = 0.028 W/m K.
 ME-261
Numerical Analysis (Extra Problems)
Topic – Numerical Integration, Numerical Differentiation and
Solution of ODE by RK Method
Problem 1:
The water flow rate, Q (m3/sec), through a triangular shaped
water channel is shown in Fig. 1. If the height of liquid above
the base point is H, the discharge or flow rate, Q, through the
right-angled water channel is given by-
𝑸 = ∫ √𝟐𝒈𝒉 ∙ 𝒃 ∙ 𝒅𝒉
where h = the depth of the elementary strip below the liquid

Fig. 1. Triangular shaped channel surface (cm), b = width of the notch = 𝟐(𝑯 − 𝒉)𝐭𝐚𝐧( ) (cm),
𝟐
 = Included angle, for right-angled water channel:  = 90o,
and g = 981 cm/s2 is the gravitational acceleration. If the level of the liquid above the base is H = 33cm, then
calculate the discharge (Q) using Simpson’s rule. [Take dh = 3.3 cm]. Write numerical solution with an accuracy
of up to three decimal places.
𝟓
𝟖 
If the theoretical formula for the actual discharge is 𝑸 = ∙ 𝐭𝐚𝐧 ( ) ∙ √𝟐𝒈 ∙ 𝑯𝟐 , then compare your result with
𝟏𝟓 𝟐
the actual value.

Problem 2:
A physical system is governed by the following first order differential equation:
𝒅𝒚 𝒙
= 𝟐 − 𝒙𝒚
𝒅𝒙 𝒚
where 𝑦(0) = 1.0. Find the value of y(0.6) with 3 equal steps. Solve the problem using the 4th order RK
method. Write numerical solution with an accuracy of up to four decimal places.

Problem 3:
The rate of cooling of a body can be expressed as follows:
𝒅𝑻
= −𝒌(𝑻 − 𝑻𝒂 )
𝒅𝒕
where T = temperature of the body (°C) at time t, Ta = temperature of the surrounding medium (°C), k = a
proportionality constant (per minute), and t = time (min). Thus, this equation (called Newton’s law of cooling)
specifies that the rate of cooling is proportional to the difference in the temperatures of the body and of the
surrounding medium. If a metal ball heated to 80°C is dropped into water that is kept at constant temperature of
Ta = 20°C, the change in temperature of the ball with time is tabulated below,
Time, min 0 5 10 15 20 25
T, °C 80 44.5 30.0 24.1 21.7 20.7
Use numerical differentiation to determine the proportionality constant, k, at each value of time. (Use O(h2)).