We discuss the intriguing ability of minimal kinetic theory to describe a broad variety of complex non-equilibrium flows across scales of motion. It is argued that, besides major computational progress, minimal kinetic theory also provides a new conceptual framework to investigate the complexities of flowing matter far from equilibrium.

We present a Lattice Boltzmann method for the simulation of a wide range of Knudsen regimes. The method is assessed in terms of normalised discharge for flow across parallel plates and three-dimensional flows in porous media. Available analytical solutions are well reproduced, supporting the the method as an appealing candidate to bridge the gap between the hydrodynamic regime and free molecular motion.

In the current study, a direct-forcing immersed boundary-non-Newtonian lattice Boltzmann method (IB-NLBM) is developed to investigate the sedimentation and interaction of particles in shear-thinning and shear-thickening fluids. In the proposed IB-NLBM, the non-linear mechanics of non-Newtonian particulate flows is detected by combination of the most desirable features of immersed boundary and lattice Boltzmann methods.

A critical issue in image restoration is noise removal, whose state-of-art algorithm, NonLocal Means, is highly demanding in terms of computational time. Aim of the present paper is to boost its performance by an efficient algorithm tailored to GPU hardware architectures. This algorithm adapts itself to several variants of the methodologies in terms of different strategies for estimating the involved filtering parameter, type of noise affecting data, multicomponent signals, spatial dimension of the images. Numerical experiments on brain Magnetic Resonance images are provided.

The vortex-body interaction problem, that characterizes the flow field of a rudder placed downstream of a single-blade marine rotor, is investigated by numerical simulations.

Nature routinely presents us with spectacular demonstrations of organization and orchestrated motion in living species. Efficient information transfer among the individuals is known to be instrumental to the emergence of spatial patterns (e.g. V-shaped formations for birds or diamond-like shapes for fishes), responding to a specific functional goal such as predatory avoidance or energy savings. Such functional patterns materialize whenever individuals appoint one of them as a leader with the task of guiding the group towards a prescribed target destination.

It is shown that the single relaxation time (SRT) version of the Lattice Boltzmann (LB) equation permits to compute the permeability of Darcy's flows in porous media within a few percent accuracy. This stands in contrast with previous claims of inaccuracy, which we relate to the lack of recognition of the physical dependence of the permeability on the Knudsen number.

The problem is addressed of the maximal integrability of the gradient of solutions to quasilinear elliptic equations, with merely measurable coefficients, in two variables. Optimal results are obtained in the framework of Orlicz spaces, and in the more general setting of all rearrangement-invariant spaces. Applications to special instances are exhibited, which provide new gradient bounds, or improve certain results available in the literature. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

We consider Detweiler's redshift variable z for a nonspinning mass m(1) in circular motion (with orbital frequency Omega) around a nonspinning mass m(2). We show how the combination of effective-one-body (EOB) theory with the first law of binary dynamics allows one to derive a simple, exact expression for the functional dependence of z on the (gauge-invariant) EOB gravitational potential u = (m(1) + m(2))/R.