error-handler-fluids

name: error-handler-fluids description: "Handle common numerical errors in fluid calculations with validation checks" category: helpers domain: fluids complexity: basic dependencies: []

Error Handler for Fluid Calculations

Robust error handling and validation framework for production-ready fluid mechanics calculations. Prevents common numerical errors, validates physical bounds, and provides graceful degradation strategies.

Overview

Fluid calculations are prone to numerical instabilities and physical constraint violations. This helper provides comprehensive error handling, input validation, and debugging tools to create production-ready code.

Common Errors in Fluid Calculations

1. Division by Zero Errors

Mach Number at Zero Velocity

# Dangerous - can divide by zero
M = V / a  # If a (speed of sound) = 0, this fails

Causes:

• Zero or near-zero speed of sound at extreme temperatures
• Zero velocity in stagnation point calculations
• Undefined fluid properties at phase boundaries

Prevention:

• Check denominators before division
• Use epsilon values for near-zero comparisons
• Validate property calculations

2. Invalid Reynolds Numbers

Negative Reynolds Numbers

# Can occur with invalid inputs
Re = rho * V * D / mu  # If any parameter is negative

Causes:

• Negative density (unphysical)
• Negative viscosity (calculation error)
• Negative dimensions (input error)
• Invalid property correlations

Prevention:

• Validate all inputs are positive
• Check property correlation validity ranges
• Ensure dimensional consistency

3. Temperature Out of Range

Property Correlation Failures

# Most correlations have limited validity
rho = water_density(T)  # Fails if T outside 0-100°C range

Causes:

• Input temperatures outside correlation validity
• Supercritical conditions
• Phase change regions
• Cryogenic or high-temperature conditions

Prevention:

• Check temperature bounds before property calculations
• Validate against correlation validity ranges
• Provide appropriate warnings

4. Pressure Below Vapor Pressure

Cavitation Risk

# Physical impossibility in liquid systems
if P < P_vapor(T):
    # Liquid will vaporize - calculation invalid

Causes:

• Low pressure in pump suction
• High velocity in pipe restrictions
• Elevated temperatures reducing vapor pressure margin
• Altitude effects on atmospheric pressure

Prevention:

• Calculate and check vapor pressure
• Implement Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) checks
• Validate system pressure throughout flow path

5. Non-Converging Iterative Solvers

Friction Factor Iterations

# Colebrook equation may not converge
for i in range(max_iter):
    f_new = solve_colebrook(Re, roughness, f_old)
    if not converged:
        # What to do here?

Causes:

• Poor initial guess
• Extreme parameter values
• Stiff equations
• Numerical instability

Prevention:

• Set maximum iterations
• Check convergence criteria
• Use stable initial guesses
• Implement fallback methods

6. Domain Errors in Mathematical Functions

Logarithm and Square Root Errors

# Common in pressure drop calculations
log(negative_value)  # Math domain error
sqrt(negative_value)  # Complex result in real calculation

Causes:

• Negative arguments to log/sqrt functions
• Complex number results in real calculations
• Numerical precision issues

Prevention:

• Validate function arguments
• Use absolute values where appropriate
• Check for numerical underflow/overflow

7. Unit Inconsistency Errors

Mixed Unit Systems

# Subtle bugs from unit mixing
P_psi = 150
rho_SI = 1000  # kg/m³
# Calculation uses mixed units - wrong result!

Causes:

• Mixing imperial and SI units
• Inconsistent temperature scales (°C vs K)
• Pressure units (absolute vs gauge)

Prevention:

• Standardize to single unit system
• Use unit-aware libraries (pint)
• Document units in variable names

Validation Checks

Physical Limits Validation

Temperature Bounds

def validate_temperature(T, T_min=-273.15, T_max=1000, unit='C'):
    """
    Validate temperature is within physical and practical limits.

    Physical minimum: absolute zero (-273.15°C)
    Practical maximum: depends on application
    """
    if unit == 'C':
        if T <= -273.15:
            raise ValueError(f"Temperature {T}°C below absolute zero")
    elif unit == 'K':
        if T <= 0:
            raise ValueError(f"Temperature {T}K below absolute zero")

    if T < T_min or T > T_max:
        raise ValueError(f"Temperature {T}{unit} outside valid range [{T_min}, {T_max}]{unit}")

Pressure Bounds

def validate_pressure(P, P_min=0, P_max=None, allow_vacuum=False):
    """
    Validate pressure is positive (or allow vacuum if specified).

    Absolute pressure must be positive.
    Gauge pressure can be negative (vacuum).
    """
    if not allow_vacuum and P < 0:
        raise ValueError(f"Absolute pressure {P} Pa cannot be negative")

    if P_min is not None and P < P_min:
        raise ValueError(f"Pressure {P} Pa below minimum {P_min} Pa")

    if P_max is not None and P > P_max:
        raise ValueError(f"Pressure {P} Pa exceeds maximum {P_max} Pa")

Flow Rate Validation

def validate_flow_rate(Q, Q_min=0, Q_max=None):
    """
    Validate volumetric flow rate is non-negative.
    """
    if Q < 0:
        raise ValueError(f"Flow rate {Q} m³/s cannot be negative")

    if Q_max is not None and Q > Q_max:
        raise ValueError(f"Flow rate {Q} m³/s exceeds maximum {Q_max} m³/s")

Dimensionless Number Validation

def validate_reynolds_number(Re, warn_transition=True):
    """
    Validate Reynolds number and warn about transition region.
    """
    if Re < 0:
        raise ValueError(f"Reynolds number {Re} cannot be negative")

    if warn_transition and 2300 < Re < 4000:
        warnings.warn(f"Reynolds number {Re} in transition region (2300-4000)")

    return Re

Unit Consistency Checks

def check_dimensional_consistency(velocity, length, viscosity):
    """
    Verify dimensions are consistent for Reynolds number calculation.

    Re = V * L / nu
    [dimensionless] = [m/s] * [m] / [m²/s]
    """
    # Using pint for dimensional analysis
    import pint
    ureg = pint.UnitRegistry()

    try:
        V = ureg.Quantity(velocity)
        L = ureg.Quantity(length)
        nu = ureg.Quantity(viscosity)

        Re = (V * L / nu).to_base_units()

        if not Re.dimensionless:
            raise ValueError("Reynolds number calculation not dimensionless!")

    except pint.DimensionalityError as e:
        raise ValueError(f"Dimensional inconsistency: {e}")

Numerical Stability Checks

def check_numerical_stability(value, min_val=1e-10, max_val=1e10):
    """
    Check if value is in numerically stable range.

    Prevents overflow, underflow, and loss of precision.
    """
    if abs(value) < min_val:
        warnings.warn(f"Value {value} may cause underflow")

    if abs(value) > max_val:
        warnings.warn(f"Value {value} may cause overflow")

    if math.isnan(value):
        raise ValueError("Calculation resulted in NaN")

    if math.isinf(value):
        raise ValueError("Calculation resulted in infinity")

Error Handling Strategies

1. Try-Except Blocks

Basic Error Handling

def safe_reynolds_number(V, D, nu):
    """
    Calculate Reynolds number with error handling.
    """
    try:
        # Validate inputs
        if V < 0 or D <= 0 or nu <= 0:
            raise ValueError("Invalid inputs for Reynolds number")

        # Check for division by zero
        if nu < 1e-15:
            raise ValueError("Kinematic viscosity too small (division by zero risk)")

        Re = V * D / nu

        # Check result
        if math.isnan(Re) or math.isinf(Re):
            raise ValueError("Invalid Reynolds number result")

        return Re

    except ValueError as e:
        print(f"Error calculating Reynolds number: {e}")
        return None
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Unexpected error: {e}")
        return None

2. Input Validation

Pre-calculation Validation

def validate_pipe_flow_inputs(V, D, rho, mu, roughness):
    """
    Comprehensive input validation for pipe flow calculations.
    """
    errors = []

    # Velocity
    if V < 0:
        errors.append(f"Velocity {V} m/s cannot be negative")
    elif V > 100:
        errors.append(f"Velocity {V} m/s unusually high (check units)")

    # Diameter
    if D <= 0:
        errors.append(f"Diameter {D} m must be positive")
    elif D > 10:
        errors.append(f"Diameter {D} m unusually large (check units)")

    # Density
    if rho <= 0:
        errors.append(f"Density {rho} kg/m³ must be positive")
    elif rho < 0.1 or rho > 20000:
        errors.append(f"Density {rho} kg/m³ outside typical range")

    # Viscosity
    if mu <= 0:
        errors.append(f"Viscosity {mu} Pa·s must be positive")
    elif mu < 1e-6 or mu > 10:
        errors.append(f"Viscosity {mu} Pa·s outside typical range")

    # Roughness
    if roughness < 0:
        errors.append(f"Roughness {roughness} m cannot be negative")
    elif roughness > D:
        errors.append(f"Roughness {roughness} m cannot exceed diameter {D} m")

    if errors:
        raise ValueError("Input validation failed:\n" + "\n".join(errors))

    return True

3. Graceful Degradation

Fallback Methods

def friction_factor_robust(Re, roughness, diameter, method='auto'):
    """
    Calculate friction factor with multiple fallback methods.
    """
    # Try exact Colebrook iteration first
    if method == 'auto' or method == 'colebrook':
        try:
            return friction_factor_colebrook(Re, roughness, diameter, max_iter=50)
        except (ValueError, RuntimeError) as e:
            warnings.warn(f"Colebrook method failed: {e}, trying Swamee-Jain")

    # Fallback to Swamee-Jain approximation
    if method == 'auto' or method == 'swamee-jain':
        try:
            return friction_factor_swamee_jain(Re, roughness, diameter)
        except (ValueError, RuntimeError) as e:
            warnings.warn(f"Swamee-Jain failed: {e}, trying simple correlation")

    # Final fallback to simple turbulent correlation
    if Re >= 4000:
        return 0.316 / Re**0.25
    else:
        return 64 / Re

4. Bounded Iterations

Safe Iterative Solvers

def solve_colebrook_safe(Re, rel_roughness, max_iter=100, tol=1e-6):
    """
    Solve Colebrook equation with convergence monitoring.
    """
    # Initial guess
    f = 0.02

    convergence_history = []

    for iteration in range(max_iter):
        f_old = f

        # Colebrook-White equation
        try:
            term = rel_roughness/3.7 + 2.51/(Re * math.sqrt(f))
            if term <= 0:
                raise ValueError("Invalid argument to logarithm")

            f = 1 / (-2 * math.log10(term))**2

        except (ValueError, ZeroDivisionError) as e:
            raise RuntimeError(f"Colebrook calculation error at iteration {iteration}: {e}")

        # Check convergence
        error = abs(f - f_old)
        convergence_history.append(error)

        if error < tol:
            return f, iteration, convergence_history

        # Check for divergence
        if iteration > 10 and error > convergence_history[iteration-5]:
            raise RuntimeError("Iteration diverging")

    raise RuntimeError(f"Failed to converge after {max_iter} iterations")

Error Handling Decorators

Input Validation Decorator

def validate_positive(*arg_names):
    """
    Decorator to validate that specified arguments are positive.
    """
    def decorator(func):
        def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
            # Get function signature
            import inspect
            sig = inspect.signature(func)
            bound_args = sig.bind(*args, **kwargs)
            bound_args.apply_defaults()

            # Check specified arguments
            for arg_name in arg_names:
                if arg_name in bound_args.arguments:
                    value = bound_args.arguments[arg_name]
                    if value <= 0:
                        raise ValueError(f"{arg_name} must be positive, got {value}")

            return func(*args, **kwargs)
        return wrapper
    return decorator


@validate_positive('velocity', 'diameter', 'viscosity')
def reynolds_number(velocity, diameter, viscosity):
    """Reynolds number with automatic validation."""
    return velocity * diameter / viscosity

Physical Bounds Decorator

def validate_range(param_name, min_val=None, max_val=None):
    """
    Decorator to validate parameter is within specified range.
    """
    def decorator(func):
        def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
            import inspect
            sig = inspect.signature(func)
            bound_args = sig.bind(*args, **kwargs)
            bound_args.apply_defaults()

            if param_name in bound_args.arguments:
                value = bound_args.arguments[param_name]

                if min_val is not None and value < min_val:
                    raise ValueError(f"{param_name} = {value} below minimum {min_val}")

                if max_val is not None and value > max_val:
                    raise ValueError(f"{param_name} = {value} exceeds maximum {max_val}")

            return func(*args, **kwargs)
        return wrapper
    return decorator


@validate_range('temperature', min_val=0, max_val=100)
def water_density(temperature):
    """Water density with automatic temperature validation."""
    return 1000 - 0.1 * temperature  # Simplified correlation

Error Logging Decorator

def log_errors(logger=None):
    """
    Decorator to log errors and optionally re-raise.
    """
    def decorator(func):
        def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
            try:
                return func(*args, **kwargs)
            except Exception as e:
                import logging
                log = logger or logging.getLogger(func.__module__)
                log.error(f"Error in {func.__name__}: {e}", exc_info=True)
                raise
        return wrapper
    return decorator

Logging and Debugging

Calculation Logging

import logging

# Configure logging
logging.basicConfig(
    level=logging.INFO,
    format='%(asctime)s - %(name)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s',
    handlers=[
        logging.FileHandler('fluid_calculations.log'),
        logging.StreamHandler()
    ]
)

logger = logging.getLogger('fluid_calcs')

def calculate_pressure_drop(Q, D, L, rho, mu, roughness):
    """
    Calculate pressure drop with comprehensive logging.
    """
    logger.info(f"Starting pressure drop calculation")
    logger.debug(f"Inputs: Q={Q}, D={D}, L={L}, rho={rho}, mu={mu}, roughness={roughness}")

    try:
        # Calculate Reynolds number
        V = 4 * Q / (math.pi * D**2)
        Re = rho * V * D / mu
        logger.debug(f"Velocity: {V:.3f} m/s, Reynolds: {Re:.0f}")

        # Calculate friction factor
        f = friction_factor(Re, roughness, D)
        logger.debug(f"Friction factor: {f:.5f}")

        # Calculate pressure drop
        dP = f * (L/D) * (rho * V**2 / 2)
        logger.info(f"Pressure drop: {dP:.2f} Pa")

        return dP

    except Exception as e:
        logger.error(f"Calculation failed: {e}", exc_info=True)
        raise

Debug Mode

class FluidCalculator:
    """
    Fluid calculator with debug mode for detailed output.
    """
    def __init__(self, debug=False):
        self.debug = debug

    def _log(self, message):
        """Internal logging."""
        if self.debug:
            print(f"[DEBUG] {message}")

    def calculate_reynolds(self, V, D, nu):
        """Calculate Reynolds number with debug output."""
        self._log(f"Input: V={V}, D={D}, nu={nu}")

        # Validation
        if nu < 1e-15:
            self._log("Warning: viscosity very small")

        Re = V * D / nu
        self._log(f"Result: Re={Re}")

        # Flow regime
        if Re < 2300:
            regime = "laminar"
        elif Re < 4000:
            regime = "transition"
        else:
            regime = "turbulent"

        self._log(f"Flow regime: {regime}")

        return Re

Diagnostic Tools

def diagnose_calculation_failure(func, *args, **kwargs):
    """
    Diagnose why a calculation is failing.
    """
    print("=" * 60)
    print("CALCULATION DIAGNOSTICS")
    print("=" * 60)

    print(f"\nFunction: {func.__name__}")
    print(f"Arguments: {args}")
    print(f"Keyword arguments: {kwargs}")

    # Check argument types
    print("\nArgument types:")
    for i, arg in enumerate(args):
        print(f"  arg[{i}]: {type(arg).__name__} = {arg}")

    # Check for NaN/Inf
    print("\nNumerical checks:")
    for i, arg in enumerate(args):
        if isinstance(arg, (int, float)):
            if math.isnan(arg):
                print(f"  arg[{i}] is NaN!")
            elif math.isinf(arg):
                print(f"  arg[{i}] is Inf!")
            elif arg == 0:
                print(f"  arg[{i}] is zero (potential division issue)")

    # Try to execute
    print("\nAttempting calculation:")
    try:
        result = func(*args, **kwargs)
        print(f"  Success! Result: {result}")
        return result
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"  Failed with error: {type(e).__name__}: {e}")
        import traceback
        traceback.print_exc()
        return None

Best Practices Summary

1. Always validate inputs before calculations
2. Check denominators before division operations
3. Verify physical constraints (positive values, valid ranges)
4. Use try-except blocks for error-prone operations
5. Implement fallback methods for iterative solvers
6. Log calculations for debugging and auditing
7. Test edge cases (zero, very large/small values)
8. Document assumptions and validity ranges
9. Use decorators for consistent validation
10. Provide clear error messages with context

When to Use This Helper

Essential for:

• Production code in safety-critical applications
• Automated calculation pipelines
• User-facing applications
• Long-running simulations
• Systems with varying input quality

May be overkill for:

• Quick prototypes
• Well-controlled research calculations
• Educational examples
• Single-use scripts

Additional Resources

See handler.py for complete implementation examples and best-practices.md for detailed guidance on production-ready fluid calculations.