This book offers a fundamental and practical introduction to the use of computational methods. A thorough discussion of practical aspects of the subject is presented in a consistent manner, and the level of treatment is rigorous without being unnecessarily abstract. Each chapter ends with bibliographic information and exercises.

This open access book, published in the Soft and Biological Matter series, presents an introduction to selected research topics in the broad field of flowing matter, including the dynamics of fluids with a complex internal structure -from nematic fluids to soft glasses- as well as active matter and turbulent phenomena. Flowing matter is a subject at the crossroads between physics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, biology and earth sciences, and relies on a multidisciplinary approach to describe the emergence of the macroscopic behaviours in a system from the coordinated dynamics of its microscopic constituents. Depending on the microscopic interactions, an assembly of molecules or of mesoscopic particles can flow like a simple Newtonian fluid, deform elastically like a solid or behave in a complex manner. When the internal constituents are active, as for biological entities, one generally observes complex large-scale collective motions. Phenomenology is further complicated by the invariable tendency of fluids to display chaos at the large scales or when stirred strongly enough. This volume presents several research topics that address these phenomena encompassing the traditional micro-, meso-, and macro-scales descriptions, and contributes to our understanding of the fundamentals of flowing matter. This book is the legacy of the COST Action MP1305 “Flowing Matter”.

This book covers the basics of abiotic colloid characterization, of biocolloids and biofilms, the resulting transport phenomena and their engineering aspects. The contributors comprise an international group of leading specialists devoted to colloidal sciences. The contributions include theoretical considerations, results from model experiments, and field studies. The information provided here will benefit students and scientists interested in the analytical, chemical, microbiological, geological and hydrological aspects of material transport in aquatic systems and soils.

Concrete and cement-based materials must operate in increasingly aggressive aqueous environments, which may be either natural or industrial. These materials may suffer degradation in which ion addition and/or ion exchange reactions occur, leading to a breakdown of the matrix microstructure and consequent weakening. Sometimes this degradation can be extremely rapid and serious such as in acidic environments, while in other cases degradation occurs over long periods. Consequences of material failure are usually severe – adversely affecting the health and well-being of human communities and disturbing ecological balances. There are also large direct costs of maintaining and replacing deteriorated infrastructure and indirect costs from loss of production during maintenance work, which place a great burden on society. The focus of this book is on addressing issues concerning performance of cement-based materials in aggressive aqueous environments , by way of this State-of-the-Art Report. The book represents the work of many well-known and respected authors who contributed chapters or parts of chapters. Four main themes were addressed: I. Nature and kinetics of degradation and deterioration mechanisms of cement-based materials in aggressive aqueous environments, II. Modelling of deterioration in such environments, III. Test methods to assess performance of cement-based materials in such environments, and which can be used to characterise and rate relative performance and inform long term predictions, IV. Engineering implications and consequences of deterioration in aggressive aqueous environments, and engineering approaches to the problem.