MATLAB for Petrochemical Engineering
Part 1: Basics of MATLAB
Chapter 1: Introduction to MATLAB Interface
MATLAB (Matrix Laboratory) is a high-level language and interactive environment for numerical computation,
visualization, and programming. The interface includes the Command Window, Workspace, Editor, and
Figure Window.
Chapter 2: Basic Commands, Variables, and Data Types
Basic commands include clc (clear command window), clear (clear variables), and who/whos (list variables).
Variables can be scalars, vectors, or matrices. Data types include double, char, logical, etc.
Chapter 3: Arrays, Matrices & Matrix Operations
Arrays and matrices are fundamental in MATLAB. Use square brackets [] to create them. Operations include
addition, subtraction, multiplication (*), element-wise multiplication (.*), transpose (') and inverse (inv()).
Chapter 4: Plotting and Visualization (2D, 3D plots)
MATLAB supports various types of plots: plot(x, y) for 2D, plot3(x, y, z) for 3D, and surf(X, Y, Z) for surface
plots. Use xlabel, ylabel, title, legend for annotation.
Chapter 5: Scripts and Functions
Scripts are files with a sequence of MATLAB commands saved as .m files. Functions are defined using the
'function' keyword and allow input/output arguments, making code reusable.
Chapter 6: Logical Operations and Loops
Logical operators include <, >, ==, ~=, &, |. Loops include for loops and while loops for repetitive tasks.
Conditional execution uses if, else, elseif statements.
MATLAB for Petrochemical Engineering
Part 1: Basics of MATLAB
Chapter 7: File Handling and Importing Data (Excel, CSV)
MATLAB can read files using functions like readmatrix, xlsread, and csvread. Use fopen, fprintf, and fclose
for manual file operations.
