FOREWORD TO THE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS OF THE 11TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HEAT TRANSFER, FLUID MECHANICS AND THERMODYNAMICS (HEFAT2015) IN SKUKUZA, KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA, FROM 20 TO 23 JULY 2015

The purpose of most conferences in this field, including this one, is to provide a forum for specialists in heat transfer, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics from all corners of the globe to present the latest progress and developments in the field. This will not only allow the dissemination of the state of the art, but it will serve as a catalyst for discussions of future directions and priorities in the areas of heat transfer, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. The additional purpose of this conference is to initiate collaboration in research.

In 2002, the 1st International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics (HEFAT2002) was hosted in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. In 2003, the 2nd International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics (HEFAT2003) was hosted at the Victoria Falls, Zambia. The 2004 conference (HEFAT2004) was in Cape Town and the 4th conference (HEFAT2005) took place in Cairo, while the 5th conference (HEFAT2007) was at Sun City, South Africa. The 6th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics (HEFAT2008) was held in Pretoria. The 7th conference took place in Antalya, Turkey while the 8th one (HEFAT2010) was in Mauritius. The 2012 conference (HEFAT2012) was in Malta and the 10th conference was in Orlando, Florida.

This conference, the 11th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics (HEFAT2015), is in Skukuza, in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The conference venue is in the middle of nature, untouched by industrialisation, urbanisation and many technologies that we are used to. May this unique wildlife environment be a reminder where we come from and inspire us to develop an environmentally clean future for humankind.

The papers in these proceedings will be read over a period of four days from 20 to 23 July 2015, during which six keynote papers will be presented. The large number of scheduled presentations will no doubt contribute towards creating a meaningful forum for discussing the latest developments as well as for keeping abreast of the state of the art in heat transfer, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics.

For this conference and proceedings, all papers were peer-reviewed and approximately 130 papers were accepted and published in the conference proceedings. All the papers in the proceedings will be uploaded onto the repository of the University of Pretoria (http://repository.up.ac.za) and will be freely available for dissemination. The review policy was that only original research papers recommended by an independent reviewer, who is a distinguished subject specialist in the field of the relevant paper, and the Editor, were accepted.

A large number of papers were submitted, and I wish to express my sincere thanks to the reviewers whose generous efforts made it possible to select only papers of a high standard for publication in the proceedings. Papers were received from authors representing 55 countries. The 10 countries with the most authors are: Belgium (56), South Africa (45), Germany (28), France (28), India (27), United Kingdom (23), United States (21), China (17), Russia (17) and Canada (16).

As conference chair of HEFAT2015, I know that the success of the conference ultimately depends on the many people who have worked with us in the planning and organising of this conference. In particular, we thank the International Advisory Committee, Organising Committee, Technical Programme Committee, the reviewers who reviewed the papers, the company, The Inside Edge, which was responsible for all logistical arrangements, our sponsors who helped to keep the cost down, the session chairs, the keynote speakers and all the delegates who will present papers. All these people contributed to the success of this conference and the quality of these proceedings.

It is my pleasure to welcome you now to HEFAT2015 on behalf of the Organising Committee. I trust that this conference will reach the common objective of bringing together scientists and engineers, and of inspiring us to uncover, share and glean more knowledge in order to tackle humankind’s future problems.