A large amount of fundamental research as well as many industrial problems involve the understanding of fluid behaviour under different flow regimes. Part of the complexity of fluids is related to the ease with which they flow, often tiny forces can easily induce fluid motions on even large scales. Examples of forces governing or influencing fluid flows range from capillary and viscous forces in the small nano and microworld to buoyancy forces at large geophysical scales. Fluid flows from the micro to the macro scales share many similarities as well as differences. The quest for a numerical method capable to tackle most, if not all, these regimes is clearly important to fundamental studies as well to industries. To complicate things, several problems do not allow for a clear scale separation, meaning that the effect of physics at smaller scales cannot be easily or faithfully incorporated into models for the larger scales. In a word, one has to deal with a truly multiscale problem which in turns calls for numerical models capable to deal with the multiscale nature of the problem itself. The Lattice Boltzmann method is a relatively new computational methodology but already quite widespread, which shows many advantages with respect to other computational methods.

The scope of the present workshop is to gather together at LC scientists which are currently using the Lattice Boltzmann technique to study computationally challenging problems in different applicative areas. We expect that from a close interaction in a collaborative environment like the LC, it will be possible to get a clear picture of where the methods have been pushed so far, which validations have been performed, which techniques and know-how could be transferred between different applicative area / communities. 

Furthermore, from the interation at Lorentz Center it will be clear whether the Lattice Boltzmann method has the potential to become the computational method for a community code for fluid problems ranging from the micro to the macro scales. Important issues which will be discussed are: validation of the method against experiments and other computational methods, community codes, a way to define benchmarks and best practices for the method development. The workshop will be successful when it will foster scientific exchanges and transferof know-how between groups focusing on state-of-the-art applications in different fields. We envision that during the Workshop discussion and proposal for the estabilishment of a community code will be initiated.