A Microcomputer Orientated Material Property Database for Process Engineering and Design

Abstract

The present package consists of a physical property database and generator and is the first step in the construction of a wide-ranging material property database of interest to the Process Industries. It is largely based on the work of Reid and Sherwood[1977] and is written entirely in ANSI FORTRAN IV. Therefore it is readily mounted on any machine with a FORTRAN compiler. The package was originally intended for use on microcomputers and in that context is close to the maximum size for a 64K, 8-bit micro. This has meant that some desirable functions have not been implemented. Several possible strategies for increasing the number of functions and for extending the scope of the database are presented later. It has been called a Material Property Database as it is intended to extend the package to include text information such as toxicity and methods of handling. The package is an interactive design tool and provides the user with data about pure components or mixtures of up to 20 components, usually at a specified temperature and pressure. It provides process engineers with quick assessments of physical properties. It is also possible to interface the package directly with a user’s programme written in FORTRAN.