A Software Tool for Teaching Transport Phenomena

Students enrolled in courses on transport phenomena usually solve a large number of problems but do not have the opportunity to explore them in detail, mainly due to time constraints. To address this issue, we developed a user-friendly software tool that allows students to solve problems in closed form while also permitting changes to any variable, or even working with a range of values for the relevant variables and plotting the results. This tool aims to enhance students' analytical abilities by enabling them to visualize the impact of independent variables on final outcomes. The software can handle different units for both input and output across the domains of momentum, heat, and mass transfer. Our implementation is particularly relevant at the junior level of metallurgical engineering curricula, where students often invest substantial time on mathematical manipulations, thereby limiting their ability to analyze systems comprehensively. By integrating this software in the educational process, we foresee improvements in students' understanding of the physical principles underlying transport phenomena, equipping them with essential analytical skills necessary for their future careers.