AFM 2014 Post Conference Report

Overview

The 10^th International Conference on Advances in Fluid
Mechanics took place in A Coruña, Spain, organised by the Wessex
Institute, represented by Prof Carlos A Brebbia and the University of A
Coruña, represented by Prof Santiago Hernandez, with the collaboration
of Prof Matiur Rahman of Dalhousie University, Canada.



The series started in 1996 when the first conference was held in New
Orleans, followed by Udine (1998); Montreal (2000); Ghent (2002); Lisbon
(2004); Skiathos (2006); The New Forest, home of the Wessex Institute
(2008); The Algarve (2010) and Split (2012).



The field of fluid mechanics has numerous applications and the
conference covers a wide range of topics, including basic formulations
and their computer modelling as well as the relationship between
experimental and analytical results. The emphasis is on new applications
and research currently in progress.



The continuous success of the conference is due to being able to
attract high quality contributions in a variety of new topics and
applications which is represented by the books published since the first
meeting took place in 1996. The papers in these books – like others
presented at Wessex Institute conferences – are part of the WIT
Transactions on Engineering Sciences series and are archived online in
the WIT eLibrary (http://library.witpress.com/), where they are immediately and permanently available to the scientific community.



The Conference was opened by Prof Carlos Brebbia, who explained to
the delegates the importance of the conference programme for the work of
the Wessex Institute, whose aim is for knowledge dissemination at
international level.



The Wessex Institute, Carlos explained, is now nearly 30 years old
and well established, as it provides a mechanism for interaction between
academic researchers and industry. It is well known for its pioneering
work on boundary elements, a technique which gave origin to computer
software codes now used as a tool for the analysis and design of many
engineering systems.



The focus of the Institute activities – Carlos explained – continues
to evolve in response to the needs of engineering sciences. Current
applications include analysis of energy systems and aerospace, amongst
others.



WIT Press is the publishing arm of the Institute which publishes not
only the WIT Transactions containing the conference proceedings but also
a series of other books and journals.



The training and research are carried out at the Institute campus in
the New Forest National Park, near Southampton in England, where WIT has
accommodation for visitors as well as residential researchers. Carlos
ended his presentation by wishing all a very successful conference and
hoping that the delegates will consider visiting the campus next time
they are in the region. This – he said – will allow them to have a
better understanding of the activities of the Wessex Institute.



Prof Santiago Hernandez from the University of A Coruña, spoke
afterwards, explaining the interest of his research group in fluid
mechanics and the types of work they carry out in his laboratory which
they were to visit during the conference. Santiago also mentioned some
of the attractions of the region, hoping that the participants would be
able to visit some of them and learn a bit more about Galicia, a unique
part of Spain with its own culture, language and traditions, many of
them related to its Celtic roots.

 Conference Topics

The conference papers were grouped in a series of topics as follows:

• Fluid structure interaction
• Turbulent flow
• Hydrodynamics
• Heat and mass transfer
• Industrial applications
• Fluid mechanics and heat transfer
• Computer simulation and experiments
• Nano and micro fluids
• Bubble and drop dynamics

 

 Invited Presentations

There were a series of invited presentations which helped to enhance the conference:

• “Applications of 2D URANS in fluid structure interaction problems
  of rectangular cylinders” by Felix Nieto of the University of A Coruña,
  Spain.
• “Turbulence: the covariant structure”, by Trevor Moulden, The University of Tennessee Space Institute, USA.
• “The equatorial meandering of abyssal ocean currents” by Gordon Swaters, University of Alberta, Canada.
• “Differentially heated flow from a rotating sphere” by Chun Ho Leung, University of Toronto, Canada.
• “Assessment of the aerodynamic response of bridge decks by means of
  2D Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations” by Santiago Hernandez,
  University of A Coruña, Spain.

 

 Special Talk

A special talk was given by Prof Hussain Al-Kayiem of the University
of Technology Petronas in Malaysia on the general topic of fluid dynamic
developments through aviation history.



He referred to the interesting history of Abbas Ibn Firnas, the first
man who attempted to fly in the ninth century. He built a glider that
has recently been replicated in the USA. Firnas was from Cordoba, Spain,
then a cultural centre as important as Damascus. He was an astronomer,
musician, mathematician and poet in his 70^th year of age when he flew.



In the XI Century, Elmer in present day Iraq, also tried to fly and
much later Ahmed Celebi in the early 1800s glided from one side to the
other of the Bosphorus, inspired by the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci.



Also in the 19^th century a series of German aviators contributed to the development of gliding.



It was the Wright brothers who set up the fundamentals of modern
aviation, applying scientific principles and developing ways to deal
with control and stability.



Hussain described the tests of these early pioneers who set up the
foundations of modern aviation with numerous illustrations and
photographs.

 Social Occasions

The Conference offered many opportunities for the participants to
interact outside the lecture rooms, through coffee breaks, complimentary
lunches and during the conference banquet, amongst others.



The banquet took place in a restaurant renowned for the quality of
its Galician cuisine. The starter was octopus, before the main course,
consisting of veal marinated in red wine, followed by a dish of
different types of sweets and ice cream.



At the beginning of the dinner Carlos proposed a toast to all
conference participants and, in particular, to his Co-chairs, to whom
the success of the meeting was in great part due. He also explained the
unique culture and traditions of Galicia, derived from its Celtic roots.



At the end of the meal Carlos introduced a Galician musical ensemble.
They played a series of classical pieces from the region to the delight
and surprise of most of the audience. The Galician bagpipes are more
melodious than others and their music is always present at every
celebration or family event.



The International Scientific Advisory Committee of the conference met
over dinner at an excellent restaurant known by the quality of its
local cuisine. The dinner consisted of seafood and fish for which
Galicia is renowned, accompanied by excellent Albarino white wines. The
dinner focused on the topics to be included in 2016, nominations for the
committee and possible locations.

 Special Visit

A special visit was arranged for the delegates to see the
experimental facilities at the School of Engineering, University of A
Coruña. As an introduction, Prof Santiago Hernandez gave a short talk
regarding the laboratories at the School and described the experiments
recently carried out at the aerodynamics wind tunnel.



The visit not only comprised the wind tunnel but also the basin for
coastal and harbour modelling and the laboratory dealing with hydraulics
testing.



The delegates were most interested in the laboratories and in
particular the way in which physical models of some components – such as
bridge deck sections – were used to obtain data for running computer
models of large suspension and cable stayed bridges, amongst others.

 Closing of the Conference

At the end of the conference the delegates were invited to visit the
Historical Town Hall in La Coruña, where they were received in the
Council Chamber by the Lieutenant Major in charge of tourism. She
explained about the origins of the town and its Roman past, including
the Hercules legend which gave rise to the name of the ancient
lighthouse which has become the symbol of the city.



The delegates were shown the different rooms and the unique clock
collection which was the passion of a wealthy citizen, who donated it to
the city afterwards. The town hall building is very much in daily use
and covers a whole side of the Maria Pita town square, one of the nicest
in Europe.



The visit was a most fitting end for a successful and very friendly meeting.

 Conference Proceedings

The proceedings AFM 2014 – Advances in Fluid Mechanics X, 472pp
(Print ISBN: 978-1-84564-790-2; eISBN: 978-1-84564-791-9) are available
from WIT Press. Orders can be placed on the WIT Press web site at
www.witpress.com or by email:
marketing@witpress.com, telephone: +44 (0) 238 029 3223 or fax: +44 (0) 238 029 2853.



Papers from the conference will also be hosted online at the WIT
eLibrary as Volume 82 of WIT Transactions on Engineering Sciences (ISSN:
1746-4471, Digital ISSN 1743-3533). For more details visit the WIT
eLibrary at http://library.witpress.com