MATH 1210 Pipeline Project

The U.S. Interior Secretary recently approved drilling of natural gas wells near
Vernal, Utah. Your company has begun drilling and established a high-producing
well on BLM ground. They now need to build a pipeline to get the natural gas to
their refinery.
While running the line directly to the refinery will be the least amount of pipe and
shortest distance, it would require running the line across private ground and
paying a right-of-way fee. There is a mountain directly east of the well that must
be drilled through in order to run the pipeline due east. Your company can build
the pipeline around the private ground by going 8 miles directly west and then 16
miles south and finally 40 miles east to the refinery (see figure below). Cost for
materials, labor and fees to run the pipeline across BLM ground is $480,000 per
mile.
Cost of drilling through the existing mountain would be a one-time cost of
$4,500,000 on top of the normal costs ($480,000 per mile) of the pipeline
itself. Also the BLM will require an environmental impact study before allowing
you to drill through the mountain. Cost for the study is estimated to be $600,000
and will delay the project by 8 months costing the company another $100,000 per
month.
For any pipeline run across private ground, your company incurs an additional
$360,000 per mile cost for right-of-way fees.

Your company has asked you to do the following:

1. Determine the cost of running the pipeline strictly on BLM ground with
two different cases:
Ill set first, all the values and definitions for all variables:

One running west, south and then east to the refinery:

Cost C:

The cost of building a pipeline via this route will cost $30,720,000 which will
cover 64 miles.
One heading east through the mountain and then south to the refinery:

Using a more direct path, and adding the expenses of drilling into the mountain
and the delay that comes with it, still on BLM ground the cost would be
$28,940,000 and will cover 48 miles, which is cheaper than the first route.
2. Determine the cost of running the pipeline:
The shortest distance across the private ground to the refinery:

Where c is the total distance across the private ground:

Cost C:

Using the shortest distance across private ground the cost would be
$30,052,753.62 and will cover around 36 miles (~35.78).
Straight south across the private ground, then straight east to the refinery:

Recall that straight south then straight east is 40 8 = 32 mi

On this method, the pipeline will be also in private grounds the first 16 miles to
the south and 32 miles on BLM and will cover 48 miles in total, the cost would be
$28,800,000.
3. Determine the cost function for the pipeline for the configuration
involving running from the well across the private ground at some angle and
intersecting the BLM ground to the south and then running east to the
refinery. Use this function to find the optimal way to run the pipeline to
minimize cost. Determine the length of pipe that runs across private land
and how far from the refinery it starts running on BLM land. Determine the
angle at which your optimal path leaves the well. Clearly show all work
including drawing the pipeline on the figure below. Make it very clear how
you use your knowledge of calculus to determine the optimal placement of
the pipeline.

main formulas (angle and distance):

Finding the cost function:

Derivative of C(x) cost:

Find minimum value:

Set the

Find angle:

Find distance:

minimum cost:

The pipeline on this method will be in southeast direction on private grounds for
19.5 miles, and will intersect BLM land with a distance of 20.859 miles to the
refinery. This will cost around $26,392,320 which will minimize the cost for
building the pipeline, thus being the recommended action to take.
4. Include a computer generated graph of the optimal cost function, C(x),
for this pipeline for any configuration involving crossing some private
ground as well as some BLM ground. Make sure to use the correct domain of
the function to scale your axes appropriately and to label the minimum
point.

Reflection:
Calculus is the study of how things change. It provides a framework for modeling
systems in which there is change, and a way to deduce the predictions of such
models. The disciplines that utilize calculus include physics, engineering,
economics, statistics, and medicine. It is used to create mathematical models in
order to arrive into an optimal solution. Calculus is a branch of mathematics that
is all about mapping change.
This all depends on what you define as "real life". Calculus is used in almost every
scientific or technical field. Economic theory also depends on calculus to model
changes in a system over time.
The main disconnect from real life is that we don't always have defined functions
to describe behavior. After a few courses in calculus, I began to see things in terms
of rates (derivatives) and summations (integrals), but these are just conceptual
approximations.
Even if I never use calculus in my career, it changes how I think about the world
and solve problems. Exposure to basic mathematical concepts is always beneficial
to everyone.
Here are some simple examples of applied calculus which I and everyone will
definitely would have encountered :

1. when you see a car on the road, how do you decide if its going slow or fast ?
you inherently calculate the distance the car has travelled by differencing
its position coordinates, inherently divide it by the instance of time and
decide that its going fast or slow. well you inherently calculated a derivative.
2. Suppose you are asked to solve a 100 math problems and further you are
told to give an estimate of how much time would you require. what do you
do ? you simply look at the kind of exercises, make an estimate of how much
time you require for solving each problem and then integrate that over 100
problems. well you inherently calculated an integral.
Calculus is actually important in our real lives because
Credit card companies use calculus to set the minimum payments due on
credit card statements at the exact time the statement is processed by
considering multiple variables such as changing interest rates and a
fluctuating available balance.
Biologists use differential calculus to determine the exact rate of growth
in a bacterial culture when different variables such as temperature and
food source are changed. This research can help increase the rate of
growth of necessary bacteria, or decrease the rate of growth for harmful
and potentially threatening bacteria.
An electrical engineer uses integration to determine the exact length of
power cable needed to connect two substations that are miles apart.
Because the cable is hung from poles, it is constantly curving. Calculus
allows a precise figure to be determined.
An architect will use integration to determine the amount of materials
necessary to construct a curved dome over a new sports arena, as well
as calculate the weight of that dome and determine the type of support
structure required.
And most importantly, I want to become a physicist in future and a physicist uses
calculus to find the center of mass of a sports utility vehicle to design appropriate
safety features that must adhere to federal specifications on different road
surfaces and at different speeds.