Читать книгу Introduction to Desalination - Louis Theodore - Страница 48

The first step in the problem solving approach is to understand the problem. Get acquainted with the problem. Read it and attempt to visualize it in its entirety without concerning yourself with details. Be particularly sure that you understand what is known and what is unknown.

Next, organize the available data. Engineering and science data are often insufficient, redundant, or contradictory. The units may have to be converted. The accuracy of the data must also be verified. Sketch a flow sheet. This step will usually facilitate the “get acquainted” operation. If the problem is a simple one, this sketch may consist of nothing more than a small box with arrows. For chemical processes, the diagrams should indicate the amount and composition of all streams entering or leaving the process.

Finally, introduce suitable and consistent symbols for the unknowns. It is usually helpful to adopt a notation which will serve to identify the unknown. This is particularly important when a problem has many unknowns.