Complex Fluids School and Symposium 2008, IIT Bombay

SERC School/CEP Course and Symposium on Rheology of Complex Fluids

February 18-22, 2008

Organised by
Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Bombay.

Introduction

Complex fluids, like conventional solids and liquids, are made up of atoms and molecules. However, here atoms and molecules are organised to form larger structures in length scales (of nano and micrometers) much large compared to the molecular sizes. The observed behaviour of these materials cannot be explained from the chemical constituents alone, without taking into account these intermediate scales of organisation. These fluids for which the deformation and flow behaviour do not fall under the realm of Newtonian fluid behaviour have a complex rheological response and hence these fluids are commonly referred as “complex fluids.” Incidentally, many industrial fluids encountered in chemical, food and allied processing industries such as suspensions, colloidal dispersions, emulsions, powders, foams, polymeric liquids, etc., exhibit complex behaviour. A clear understanding of the flow and rheological behaviour of such fluids is crucial while carrying out the processing operations, designing process equipment which handle/ transport these fluids, and in their end-use applications. The Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) sponsors conducting of state-of-the-art courses in engineering and science for the benefit of faculty of engineering colleges, as well as engineers working in industry, R&D organisations and CSIR laboratories, and scientists from government departments in the country. These courses also offer an opportunity for increasing industry academia interaction. This SERC school (Feb 18–20, 2008) is the third in series for Rheology of Complex Fluids; the earlier one was held at IIT Kanpur in December 2006. The school will be followed by a two day national symposium (Feb 21–22, 2008) on complex fluids, with invited speakers who will present the latest developments in this broad area.

Aims and scope
The aim of this SERC School on Rheology of Complex fluids is to bring together young researchers and teachers from educational and R&D institutions,and expose them to the basic concepts and research techniques used in the study of rheological behaviour of complex fluids. The lectures will be delivered by well-recognised experts from around the country who have several years of experience in the teaching, research, and industrial R&D of variousaspects of complex fluids. This course should be useful for the participants in their teaching and should also help them in undertaking research inchallenging fundamental as well as industrial problems involving complex fluids. The two day symposium will complement the course by providing invited lectures on specific aspects of current research in complex fluids. Three important benefits of this workshop may be envisioned. First, it is hoped that the participants will be encouraged to initiate teaching and research in the general area of complex fluids in their respective institutions. Secondly, discussion with the experts could assist in resolving difficulties in an ongoing project. Finally, there will be opportunities to nucleate new research collaborations between the participants and the experts.

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