Viscoplastic Fluids: From Theory to Application (15w5071)

The Banff International Research Station will host the "Viscoplastic Fluids: From Theory to Application" workshop from October 25th to October 30th, 2015.

BIRS is pleased to be hosting a workshop on Viscoplastic Fluids from Theory to Application. This is the sixth international meeting on this topic, and marks the 10th anniversary of the first workshop, which was held at BIRS in 2005. Viscoplastic materials behave as solids subject to a small applied force, but flow like a fluid when the applied force is large enough. Such materials are very common: in the home, mustard, hair gel, and face cream are all viscoplastic fluids. Heavy oils, slurries of mine tailings, fresh concrete, and wood pulp are examples from industry, while cooling lava and mud are environmental examples. Because of the broad range of applications of these materials, it is important to understand how they behave under a range of conditions, and the mathematics that describes their flow behavior and the transition from solid-like to fluid-like behavior is crucial.



Earlier workshops on Viscoplastic Fluids from Theory to Application have been held biannually since 2005, at BIRS (2005), Monte Verita (2007), Cyprus (2009), Rio de Janeiro (2011), and Rueil-Malmaison (2013). Like the previous meetings, this BIRS workshop will bring together mathematicians, engineers and scientists working on the fundamental aspects of viscoplastic fluids, and to connect them with those working on industrial and environmental applications. The meeting is expected to stimulate a broad and lively discussion of new theoretical developments, analytical and computational methodologies, new and existing applications, and growth in rheological understanding and modelling. In addition, a goal of the workshop is to collectively identify and discuss key open problems and areas for development, setting broad goals for the field over the next 10 years.

The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).