Prof. Francesco Baldi

Rheology is a branch of mechanics that studies the deformation and flow of matter. Though, in principle, rheology includes everything dealing with flow behavior (aeronautics, hydraulics and even solid mechanics), in practice it is restricted to liquids whose response cannot be successfully addressed by referring to the continuum mechanics approaches. Such liquids, characterized by a complex structure, exhibit unusual flow behaviors and even counterintuitive phenomena. This category includes many important liquids, such as polymer melts, paints, inks, foods, and also biological fluids as synovial fluid, mucus and blood. This short course introduces PhD students to the principles of rheology and to the basic measurements for the rheological characterization of complex fluids. The rheological response of some fluids of special interest for the biomedical field will be also discussed.

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