Microsoft Excel has been used for scientific numerical simulation. In Excel simulation, each cell of a spreadsheet is regarded as a nodal point. Based on a concrete image of a physical model, discretized governing equations and boundary conditions are written in appropriate cells. Calculation is performed automatically to obtain numerical results. In the present study, Excel VBA is introduced and an icon-based visual spreadsheet is developed for heat transfer analysis. It is based on the

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... oded cells termed Icon Cell, where a series of discretized equations are embedded in advance. By using macro buttons, the icon cells are arranged on a spreadsheet and they show numerical results immediately. The icon-based Excel simulation does not require any computer program writing, and therefore it is a very handy tool for scientific researches and practical engineering applications.