Graduate Student Workshop Problems

Problems
The Problems will be presented by the Facilitators. The graduate students then divide into small study groups and work on the problems of their choice. Each study group makes an oral presentation of their results at the end of the day.

Problem 1. Cooling of concrete
When big concrete structures are constructed, heat is created during the transformation of cement into concrete and the temperature rise inside the block may be quite significant. This should be avoided. A usual method is to use piped water to cool down the structure. The objective here is to determine how the temperature evolves in the concrete structure and the water pipes.

Problem 2. Transport of mining waste material
A mineral processing plant produces vast amounts of waste material of all sizes ranging from small pebbles of diameter less than a millimetre to much large boulders. This should be carried by water down to a pond. The objective here is to design a furrow to guide the waste and water mixture from the production site down to a pond and determine the flow of water necessary.

Problem 3. Effect of a red traffic light or an accident on traffic flow
Traffic is moving with a constant density. It is stopped for a finite time by a red traffic light or by an accident. The objective it to determine the effect of the traffic being stopped for a finite time.

Problem 4. Wrinkling of paper labels on bottles
Glue is put on a label in strips and the label is pressed against the bottle causing the glue strips to spread. If insufficient time is given to the spreading of the glue then wrinkles may form on the label. If too much time is given then the labeling process will not be efficient. The objective is to determine the characteristic time for the spreading of a glue strip.