Applied Math. Talk: Complex Fluids in the Immersed Boundary Method: From Viscoelasticity to Blood Clots by Aaron Barrett, Department of Mathematics, University of Utah

The immersed boundary method was first developed in the 1970s to model the motion of heart valves and has since been utilized to study many different biological systems. While the IB method has seen countless modifications and advancements from the perspective of fluid-structure interaction, the use of a Newtonian fluid model remains a fundamental component of many implementations. However, many biological fluids exhibit non-Newtonian responses to stresses, and as such, a Newtonian fluid model falls short to fully describe the system. In this talk, we will discuss models of two different systems: polymeric fluids and blood clotting, and we will address the numerical challenges associated with each system.