A Computer Solution of the Buckingham Pi Theorem Using SYMBOLANG, A Symbolic Manipulation Language.

Abstract

Among the theories of similitude, application of the Buckingham Pi Theorem allows one to find meaningful relationships among variables, check the formulation of a system of equations, and allow prediction from scaled parameters. Simply stated, the Pi Theorem asserts that if there are n variables involving N fundamental units, these may be combined to form n-N dimensionless parameters each containing N+1 variables. SYMBOLANG is a FORTRAN-based symbol manipulator using a list structure. Symbol manipulators operate on strings of symbols rather than numbers. As an example, a symbol manipulator allows multiplication of N+1 by N-1 to obtain (N sup 2)-1. A list structure allows data to be stored and manipulated by relationships rather than sequentially or by some other scheme.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1975
Accession Number
ADA016901

Entities

People

  • Morton A. Hirschberg

Organizations

  • Ballistic Research Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Computers
  • Computing Devices
  • Equations
  • Language
  • Manipulators

Readers

  • Computer Programming and Software Development.
  • Computer Science.
  • Mathematical Modeling and Probability Theory.