9/15/2022

NUMERICAL METHODS WITH

MATLAB
LEC 3: MATHEMATICAL MODELING,
NUMERICAL METHODS,
AND PROBLEM SOLVING

Eng. Sherif Ibrahim Abdelmaksoud

TOPICS / OBJECTIVES COVERED

• Learning how can mathematical models be formulated on the basis of
scientific principles to simulate the behavior of a simple physical system.
• Compare between the analytical and numerical methods and how to generate
solutions in a manner that it can be implemented on a digital computer.
• Learning grid generation technique using nested loop.

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A SIMPLE MATHEMATICAL MODEL

A mathematical model can be generally defined as a formulation or equation that expresses the essential
features of a physical system or process in mathematical terms.

Where,
• Dependent variable is a characteristic that typically reflects the behavior or state of the system;
• Independent variables are usually dimensions, such as time and space, along which the system’s
behavior is being determined;
• Parameters are reflective of the system’s properties or composition;
• Forcing functions are external influences acting upon it.
Newton’s second law (time rate of change of momentum of a body is equal to the resultant force acting on
it)

A SIMPLE MATHEMATICAL MODEL (CONT.)

A more complex model than Newton’s second law can be found in determining the terminal velocity of a
free-falling body near the earth’s surface. A model can be derived by expressing the acceleration as the
time rate of change of the velocity
Thus, the rate of change of the velocity is equal to the net force acting on the body over its mass.
• If the net force is positive, the object will accelerate.
• If it is negative, the object will decelerate.
• If the net force is zero, the object’s velocity will remain at a constant level.
The net force is composed of two opposing forces: the
• downward pull of gravity FD
• upward force of air resistance FU
If force in the downward direction is assigned a positive sign, the second law can be used to formulate the
force due to gravity as
Air resistance can be formulated in a variety of ways for example:

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A SIMPLE MATHEMATICAL MODEL (CONT.)

Therefore,
This equation is a model that relates the acceleration of a falling object to the forces acting
on it.
It is a differential equation because it is written in terms of the differential rate of change
(dυ/dt) of the variable that we are interested in predicting.
However, the exact solution of that equation for the velocity of the jumper cannot be
obtained using a simple algebraic manipulation.
Rather, more advanced techniques such as those of calculus must be applied to obtain an exact
or analytical solution. For example, if the jumper is initially at rest (υ = 0 at t = 0), calculus can
be used to solve that equation
where an analytical or closed-form
solution because it exactly
• υ(t) is the dependent variable, satisfies the original differential
equation
• t is the independent variable,
• cd and m are parameters, & g is the forcing function.

A SIMPLE MATHEMATICAL MODEL (CONT.)

There are many mathematical models that cannot be solved exactly. In many of these cases, the only
alternative is to develop a numerical solution that approximates the exact solution. Numerical methods
are those in which the mathematical problem is reformulated so it can be solved by arithmetic
operations.
Note that dυ/dt ≅ Δυ/Δt is
approximate because Δt is
finite.
where
Δυ and Δt are differences in velocity and time computed over finite intervals
υ(ti) is velocity at an initial time ti
υ(ti+1) is velocity at some later time ti+1.
This equation is called a finite-difference approximation of the derivative at time ti
Or

This equation can then be rearranged to yield

This approach is formally
called Euler’s method.

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A SIMPLE MATHEMATICAL MODEL (CONT.)

Analytical Solution to vs Numerical Solution to the Bungee Jumper Problem
A bungee jumper with a mass of 68.1 kg leaps from a stationary hot air balloon. Compute velocity for the
first 12 s of free fall. Also determine the terminal velocity that will be attained for an infinitely long cord (or
alternatively, the jumpmaster is having a particularly bad day!). Use a drag coefficient of 0.25 kg/m.
Analytical Solution Numerical Solution
A step size of 2 s for the calculation
At the start of the computation (t0 = 0), the velocity of the
jumper is zero.

To compute velocity at t1 = 2 s:

For the next interval (from t = 2 to 4 s), the computation is

repeated, with the result

the jumper accelerates rapidly (Fig. ). A velocity of49.4214 m/s

(about 110 mi/hr) is attained after 10 s

A SIMPLE MATHEMATICAL MODEL (CONT.)

Therefore, we can see that the numerical method captures the essential features of the exact
solution. However, because we have employed straight-line segments to approximate a
continuously curving function, there is some discrepancy between the two results. One way to
minimize such discrepancies is to use a smaller step size. For example, make the step at 1-s
intervals results in a smaller error, as the straight-line segments track closer to the true
solution. Or with the aid of the computer, large numbers of calculations can be performed
easily. Thus, you can accurately model the velocity of the jumper without having to solve the
differential equation exactly.

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CONSERVATION LAWS IN ENGINEERING

AND SCIENCE
There are other major organizing principles in
science and engineering. Among the most
important of these are the conservation laws.
time-variable (or transient) vs Steady state

GRID GENERATION (CASE STUDY)

The simplest type of grid generation techniques is the algebraic method
We will transform
This physical domain (x,y) to a rectangular computational domain (ɳ , 𝜁 )
then return it to physical domain (x,y)

L=4; HI=2; Hz=4;

IM= 17.; (the max number of grid points in 𝜁 axis)
JM= 13.; (the max number of grid points in ɳ axis)
1) Step: ɳ has been normalized because the change between H1 & H2, so its
𝐿 ɳ value varies from zero to one. So considered as ɳ = 1, but y must be
∆𝜁 = ∆ɳ =
𝐼𝑀 − 1 𝐽𝑀 − 1 divided by ymax
In this example, a computational grid can easily be generated by choosing equally spaced increments in the x direction and using
uniform division in the y direction. This may be described as
X= 𝜁 & y=ɳ ymax where ymax represent the upper boundary & equal 𝐻 + 𝑥

x= 𝜁
𝑦= 𝐻 + 𝜁 ɳ

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NUMERICAL METHODS COVERED

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