In this book experts discuss research and applications in interfacial fluid dynamics.

There are several physico-chemical processes that determine the behavior of multiphase fluid systems – e.g., the fluid dynamics in the different phases and the dynamics of the interface(s), mass transport between the fluids, adsorption effects at the interface, and transport of surfactants on the interface – and result in heterogeneous interface properties. In general, these processes are strongly coupled and local properties of the interface play a crucial role. A thorough understanding of the behavior of such complex flow problems must be based on physically sound mathematical models, which especially account for the local processes at the interface. This book presents recent findings on the rigorous derivation and mathematical analysis of such models and on the development of numerical methods for direct numerical simulations. Validation results are based on specifically designed experiments using high-resolution experimental techniques. A special feature of this book is its focus on an interdisciplinary research approach combining Applied Analysis, Numerical Mathematics, Interface Physics and Chemistry, as well as relevant research areas in the Engineering Sciences. The contributions originated from the joint interdisciplinary research projects in the DFG Priority Programme SPP 1506 “Transport Processes at Fluidic Interfaces.”

As the first of its kind, this book provides a valuable introduction for scientists and engineers interested in liquid/fluid interfaces and disperse systems to the rapidly developing area of adsorption dynamics. It is the first extensive review available on the subject of dynamics of adsorption and gives a general summary of the current state of adsorption kinetics theory and experiments. Current progress in recently designed set-ups and improved and generalised known methods for studying interfacial relaxations is reviewed. In addition, the role of the electric charge of surfactants in the adsorption process is discussed in terms of a non-equilibrium distribution of adsorbing ions in the diffuse layer.Present theories of the effect of dynamic adsorption layers on mobile surfaces, such as moving drops and bubbles, based on both diffusion and kinetic controlled adsorption models are described and efficient approximate analytical methods to solve the mathematical problem of coupling surfactant transport and hydrodynamics are introduced. The role of a dynamic adsorption layer in bubble rising, film drainage and film stabilisation and in complex processes such as flotation and microflotation is discussed.Containing more than 1100 references, the book is essential reading for industrial scientists and graduate and post-graduate students in physical, surface and colloid chemistry, physico-chemical hydrodynamics, water purification and mineral processing.

Interfacial Fluid Mechanics: A Mathematical Modeling Approach provides an introduction to mathematical models of viscous flow used in rapidly developing fields of microfluidics and microscale heat transfer. The basic physical effects are first introduced in the context of simple configurations and their relative importance in typical microscale applications is discussed. Then, several configurations of importance to microfluidics, most notably thin films/droplets on substrates and confined bubbles, are discussed in detail. Topics from current research on electrokinetic phenomena, liquid flow near structured solid surfaces,evaporation/condensation, and surfactant phenomena are discussed in the later chapters.

Spontaneous pattern formation in nonlinear dissipative systems far from equilibrium occurs in a variety of settings in nature and technology, and has applications ranging from nonlinear optics through solid and fluid mechanics, physical chemistry and chemical engineering to biology. This book explores the forefront of current research, describing in-depth the analytical methods that elucidate the complex evolution of nonlinear dissipative systems.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is an important design tool in engineering and also a substantial research tool in various physical sciences as well as in biology. The objective of this book is to provide university students with a solid foundation for understanding the numerical methods employed in today's CFD and to familiarise them with modern CFD codes by hands-on experience. It is also intended for engineers and scientists starting to work in the field of CFD or for those who apply CFD codes. Due to the detailed index, the text can serve as a reference handbook too. Each chapter includes an extensive bibliography, which provides an excellent basis for further studies.

A cultural theory of the interface as a relation that is both ubiquitous and elusive, drawing on disciplines from cultural theory to architecture. In this book, Branden Hookway considers the interface not as technology but as a form of relationship with technology. The interface, Hookway proposes, is at once ubiquitous and hidden from view. It is both the bottleneck through which our relationship to technology must pass and a productive encounter embedded within the use of technology. It is a site of contestation—between human and machine, between the material and the social, between the political and the technological—that both defines and elides differences. A virtuoso in multiple disciplines, Hookway offers a theory of the interface that draws on cultural theory, political theory, philosophy, art, architecture, new media, and the history of science and technology. He argues that the theoretical mechanism of the interface offers a powerful approach to questions of the human relationship to technology. Hookway finds the origin of the term interface in nineteenth-century fluid dynamics and traces its migration to thermodynamics, information theory, and cybernetics. He discusses issues of subject formation, agency, power, and control, within contexts that include technology, politics, and the social role of games. He considers the technological augmentation of humans and the human-machine system, discussing notions of embodied intelligence. Hookway views the figure of the subject as both receiver and active producer in processes of subjectification. The interface, he argues, stands in a relation both alien and intimate, vertiginous and orienting to those who cross its threshold.