Advances in Fluid Mechanics 2016

11th International Conference on Advances in Fluid Mechanics

5 - 7 September, 2016
Ancona, Italy

Overview

The 11th International Conference on Advances in Fluid Mechanics (AFM/16) took place recently in Ancona, Italy, organised by Wessex Institute and sponsored by the International Journal of Computational Methods and Experimental Measurements.

The meeting has had a long history since starting in New Orleans in 1996, co-chaired with the late Professor Matiur Rahman of Dalhousie University in Canada.

The success of the meeting resulted in attracting high quality publications containing original results. This has been one of the characteristics of the conference, together with its continuous evolution, as demonstrated by the proceedings of this, as well as all previous meetings. In accordance with Wessex Institute’s policy, all papers are now available in Open Access format on the website (http://www.witpress.com/elibrary) from where they can be fully downloaded.

The meeting also covered a wide range of topics, from basic facilities, numerical models and new applications.

As usual, the conference attracted delegates from many different countries and a good number of young researchers, as well as established scientists including those serving on the International Scientific Advisory Committee (ISAC).

Opening of the Conference

The meeting was opened by Professor Carlos A Brebbia, Director of Wessex Institute, who in the first place paid homage to the long and distinguished career of his Co-Chair, the late Professor Matiur Rahman. Matiur – Carlos said – was an excellent mathematician and enjoyed teaching up to the moment of retirement from Dalhousie University, ten or so years ago. He wrote several books on Fluid Mechanics and Mathematical Methods. As a tutor he supervised a series of outstanding PhD theses.

Matiur had a very close relationship with the Wessex Institute, not only by co-ordinating and attending many conferences, but also having published several books with WIT Press, the publishing arm of Wessex Institute.

He became a member of WIT’s Board of Directors where he served with distinction for 15 or so years.

It is regrettable that Matiur died suddenly without having the opportunity of being at this conference, which was his brainchild.

Carlos then proceeded to explain some of the activities taking place at the Wessex Institute, particularly those that related to conferences and knowledge transfer.

WIT – Carlos explained – is dedicated to the international dissemination of knowledge, particularly in the field of Physical Sciences and Engineering. The annual conference programme aims to provide the community with the opportunity of meeting in a friendly environment to increase communication. This format, which has been in operation since the Institute started, has proved to be highly effective.

Special care, Carlos said, is paid to the publication of the written material which has recently become freely available to the international community.

Carlos had no doubt that this conference, as others held in the unique location of Portonovo in Conero National Park, will help to strengthen the links between participants and result in a variety of post conference projects, as has always been the case.

Carlos also referred to the other achievements of the Institute, including its series of Journals, which in addition to the WIT Transactions, bear witness to the quality of the material presented here, as well as at other WIT conferences.

The Journal most appropriate for this conference is the International Journal of Computational Methods and Experimental Measurements. In addition, other journals related to the topics are Safety and Security Engineering, Energy Production and Management, and the latest one on Environmental Impacts.

WIT also serves industrial research and development needs through the development of advanced analytical tools, particularly the Boundary Element Method, which originated in their work at Southampton University, before the group moved to its Ashurst Lodge Campus. This work continues in the New Forest with research into new applications of BEM.

Finally, the Boston office of the WIT Group has always been successful in attracting research funds in the fields of aerospace as well as on hydrocarbon related engineering.

Carlos finished by expressing his appreciation to the members of the ISAC who helped in the selection of papers and in particular to his colleagues at the University of La Marche who sorted out the logistics of the conference and arranged for its closing session at the University’s Aula Magna.

Professor Giorgio Passerini then welcomed the delegates in the name of the Politecnica University of La Marche. He explained the links with the Wessex Institute which had resulted in a series of projects, meetings and other joint initiatives.

Giorgio – who is a member of WIT’s Board of Directors – arranged the special session which was to take place in the Aula Magna of the University in Ancona.

Giorgio then referred to the rapid growth of his University which continues to attract many science and technology students. The University – although relatively new – is very active and wishes to increase the number of links with research institutions around the world.

He then described the attractions of this part of Italy where the conference took place and the unique location of Portonovo, situated in the centre of a national park.

Conference Sessions

The Conference sessions covered a series of interesting papers which were grouped under the following headings:

• Computational methods
• Multiphase flow
• Experimental measurements
• Jets behaviour
• Turbulent flow
• Pumping fluid transportation
• Fluid structure interaction
• Droplets, sprays and bubbles
• Hydrodynamics

Invited Presentations

The conference was enhanced by a series of invited presentations, ie

• “Numerical simulation of the aerodynamic response of 2D circular sectors by means of URANS”, by Felix Nieto, University of A Coruña, Spain.
• “Mach’s principle is equivalent to Newton’s First Axiom” by Trevor Moulden, University of Tennessee, USA.
• “How CFD supports problems analysis and solution in oil production industry”, by Hussain Al-Kayiem, University of Technology, Petronas, Malaysia.
• “A user friendly software for the design of full bridge reduced models in wind tunnel testing”, by Miguel Cid Montoya, University of A Coruña, Spain.
• “Analysis of a novel system to provide fresh water”, by David Dyer, Auburn University, USA.
• “Flow pattern alteration near a hydrofoil due to effective slip: an experimental study”, by Peter Vorobieff, University of New Mexico, USA.
• “The dynamics of the globe fountain”, by Serge D’Alessio, University of Waterloo, Canada.

Social Occasions

The International Scientific Advisory Committee (ISAC) met over dinner to discuss the conference objectives and review the topics. The venue was an outstanding fish restaurant which prepared local specialities. The excellence of the food and the friendly environment contributed to facilitate communication and exchange of ideas. Several suggestions were put forward to improve the conference when it is reconvened in the future. It was also decided to invite some of the participants to join the ISAC.

A special concert was arranged during one of the conference evenings. It was a piano recital by Pier Paolo Strona who, following an early career as a research engineer at FIAT R&D in Torino, concentrated on his skills as a musician. Pier Paolo is now an excellent piano and organ player who has participated as such in many of the Wessex Institute’s activities.

His recital consisted of pieces by J S Bach (Fantasia Cromatica e Fuga), Mozart (Fantasia) and Beethoven (Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia). His performance was very well received by the delegates.

Pier Paolo was also one of the first scientists to apply boundary element methods for the solution of aerospace problems.

He has published several books, a major work on Bach’s Goldman variations and others, including his photographs and dealing with different subjects. His current interests are in researching the common basis of music and other cultural manifestations such as language, architecture and figurative arts.

At the end of the concert the participants were given a CD of music by Pier Paolo entitled “Music from the New Forest at Wessex Institute” which contains not only pieces from the above mentioned composers, but also from Gurdyieff, Scarlatti, Joplin and Piazzolla, amongst others. The diverse composers demonstrate the wide range of Pier Paolo’s musical interests.

The Conference Dinner took place in the idyllic site of the Fortino Napoleonico, now a hotel and excellent restaurant.

The Fortino was built at the time of Napoleon to protect the Adriatic Coast against possible invasion from England and other nations opposed to the Napoleonic rule. It has a commanding position of the coastline which the delegates could appreciate during the pre-dinner drinks on the terrace.

Dinner was served in one of the old bastions where the delegates had an opportunity to taste some of the local fish dishes accompanied by the excellent white wines for which La Marche is renowned throughout the world.

Giorgio Passerini said a few words at the beginning of the banquet and offered a toast to the continuous success of the conferences, stating how nice it was to see so many nationalities represented at the meeting.

The night was most pleasant and helped to strengthen the links between delegates. This was one more opportunity for them, in addition to lunches and coffee breaks, to become better acquainted with each other.

The success of this and other WIT meetings – Giorgio said – is in great part due to the friendly atmosphere created at WIT conferences.

Special Session

The closing session of the conference took place in Ancona, in the historical Aula Magna of the University of La Marche. Professor Fabio Polonara welcomed the delegates in the name of the University and was especially pleased to see the Wessex Institute conferences back in Ancona.

He referred to the importance of presenting scientific facts in energy matters and not to have uninformed decisions in the hands of politicians.

Carlos then expressed his appreciation to the University of La Marche with which the Wessex Institute has numerous links in the form of projects as well as conferences and other research activities.

Carlos explained that his Institute tries to build bridges amongst different disciplines by bringing projects together, something WIT has been successfully doing for over thirty years. The Institute is aware that it depends on the goodwill of the community which reflects the success in achieving its ends.

Professor Giorgio Passerini also welcomed the delegates in the name of his University of La Marche and hoped that they would have time to see some of the sights in Ancona, a very old and strategic city that has attracted many tradesmen as well as invaders over its long history.

The sessions at the Aula Magna of the University of La Marche in Ancona, comprised of the following presentations:

Dr Rock Boothroyd
The first keynote address was by Dr Rock Boothroyd, independent consultant, lately from the University of Queensland, Australia, who in his own words is trying to pay back to the world some of the benefits received earlier in his career. His talk on “Integrated Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor Systems for base-load power plants” was a reflection of his experience in the nuclear industry. He discussed the advantages of this type of reactor which can supply the background power for further integrated energy systems.

Professor Hussain Al-Kayiem
The next keynote address was given by Professor Hussain Al-Kayiem from Petronas University in Malaysia. Hussain has considerable experience in the field of energy systems, ranging from conventional sources to renewable energies; with expertise in the development of technical equipment. His presentation described a normal renewable energy system based on the use of solar energy, using the updraft from a tall chimney where air is heated by the sun. The system ensures a continuous delivery of energy by being able to store the heat in a water pipe network underneath the heat absorbing surface surrounding the chimney. Some updraft power plants have been built in Australia, Spain and Namibia, amongst others. Hussain proposed a new version based on vortex induced flow.

Dr Elena Cristina Rada
Dr Elena Cristina Rada from the University of Trento gave another keynote address with the topic of Environment Pollution from waste and biomass energy generation. She referred to the challenge that population growth and use of energy present regarding the increase in emissions.

Elena investigated the local impact of waste to energy plants, solid waste and the use of wood combustion. Her research indicates that all these technologies can be environmentally friendly if they are carried out properly. Even wood combustion can use very clean technologies.

The analysis made by Elena will help to understand better the different systems available to provide clean waste and biomass processing, leading to an improvement in Air Quality.

Professor Yogesh Jaluria
The keynote address by Professor Yogesh Jaluria of Rutgers University, USA was entitled “Simulation of thermal transport processes to reduce environmental impact and improve output”. He went over a series of industrial applications in which the process has been optimised to minimise the adverse effects on the environment. Yogesh also referred to the damaging environmental effects of air contamination in soil and water.

It is essential to combine the experimental, analytical and computational methods to obtain the best possible results and validate the simulation in order to reduce energy emissions and optimise the use of energy. The research needs to focus more on environmental impact.

Professor Bengt Sunden
The last invited presentation in the Special Session was by Professor Bengt Sunden from Lund University in Sweden, on the topic “On modelling of transport phenomena in thermoelectric systems for trigeneration”. His talk discussed how to change a thermoelectric generator module. The analysis requires a multiscale and multiphase approach. The research demonstrates that the best strategy for making the thermoelastic devices efficient is to choose the right materials.

The presentations were all well received and followed by productive discussions.

Medals and Close of the Conference

At the end of the talks, Carlos awarded the keynote speakers an Eminent Scientist Award from the Wessex Institute. This was a medal depicting the New Forest Dragon based on a legend dating back from the time of the Saxons. The dragon is part of the ancient flag of Wessex (ie the West Saxon country). The standard was raised for the last time during the Battle of Hastings which marked the end of the Saxon kingdom and the invasion of England by the Normans. The New Forest then became the hunting ground of the new King, William the Conqueror.

The medals were an appreciation to the speakers for their scientific achievements, as well as for their support of the Wessex Institute and the conferences.

The Conference closed after this special session and the organisers expressed the appreciation of the Wessex Institute and the University of La Marche for having participated in this important meeting.

Associated Conferences

Air Pollution 2017
Multiphase Flow 2017
Energy and Sustainability 2017