Multi-block Lattice Boltzmann method: Extension to 3D and validation in turbulence

In this paper, a multi-block method is applied to 3D problems. In this application, interpolation schemes are carefully addressed to avoid the inconsistency when information is transferred from coarse to fine blocks. Two test cases are employed to assess information transfer scheme and accuracy improvement with respect to grid refinement.     

二维非均匀多孔介质中不可压两相驱替的有限分析算法

为提高油藏数值模拟算法的计算效率,在求解单向稳态渗流的有限分析算法基础上,构建二维非均匀多孔介质中不可压两相渗流的有限分析算法.算法中,网格界面上的平均渗透率不是简单地取为相邻网格渗透率的调和平均值,而是通过奇点邻域解析解积分求得.相比于传统的数值算法,有限分析算法随着网格的加密,能够很快地收敛(仅需将原始网格细分至2×2或3×3),并且其计算精度和收敛性不依赖于介质的非均匀强度,从而计算效率得到提高.     

Improving the Stability of the Multiple-Relaxation-Time Lattice Boltzmann Method by a Viscosity Counteracting Approach

Numerical instability may occur when simulating high Reynolds number flows by the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The multiple-relaxation-time (MRT) model of the LBM can improve the accuracy and stability, but is still subject to numerical instability when simulating flows with large single-grid Reynolds number (Reynolds number/grid number). The viscosity counteracting approach proposed recently is a method of enhancing the stability of the LBM. However, its effectiveness was only verified in the single-relaxation-time model of the LBM (SRT-LBM). This paper aims to propose the viscosity counteracting approach for the multiple-relaxation-time model (MRT-LBM) and analyze its numerical characteristics. The verification is conducted by simulating some benchmark cases: the two-dimensional (2D) lid-driven cavity flow, Poiseuille flow, Taylor-Green vortex flow and Couette flow, and three-dimensional (3D) rectangular jet. Qualitative and Quantitative comparisons show that the viscosity counteracting approach for the MRT-LBM has better accuracy and stability than that for the SRT-LBM.     

Adaptive mesh refinement based on high order finite difference WENO scheme for multi-scale simulations

In this paper, we propose a finite difference AMR-WENO method for hyperbolic conservation laws. The proposed method combines the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) framework  and  with the high order finite difference weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) method in space and the total variation diminishing (TVD) Runge–Kutta (RK) method in time (WENO-RK)  and  by a high order coupling. Our goal is to realize mesh adaptivity in the AMR framework, while maintaining very high (higher than second) order accuracy of the WENO-RK method in the finite difference setting. The high order coupling of AMR and WENO-RK is accomplished by high order prolongation in both space (WENO interpolation) and time (Hermite interpolation) from coarse to fine grid solutions, and at ghost points. The resulting AMR-WENO method is accurate, robust and efficient, due to the mesh adaptivity and very high order spatial and temporal accuracy. We have experimented with both the third and the fifth order AMR-WENO schemes. We demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed scheme using smooth test problems, and their quality and efficiency using several 1D and 2D nonlinear hyperbolic problems with very challenging initial conditions. The AMR solutions are observed to perform as well as, and in some cases even better than, the corresponding uniform fine grid solutions. We conclude that there is significant improvement of the fifth order AMR-WENO over the third order one, not only in accuracy for smooth problems, but also in its ability in resolving complicated solution structures, due to the very low numerical diffusion of high order schemes. In our work, we found that it is difficult to design a robust AMR-WENO scheme that is both conservative and high order (higher than second order), due to the mass inconsistency of coarse and fine grid solutions at the initial stage in a finite difference scheme. Resolving these issues as well as conducting comprehensive evaluation of computational efficiency constitute our future work.     

Conservative space-time mesh refinement methods for the FDTD solution of Maxwell’s equations

A new variational space-time mesh refinement method is proposed for the FDTD solution of Maxwell’s equations. The main advantage of this method is to guarantee the conservation of a discrete energy that implies that the scheme remains L² stable under the usual CFL condition. The only additional cost induced by the mesh refinement is the inversion, at each time step, of a sparse symmetric positive definite linear system restricted to the unknowns located on the interface between coarse and fine grid. The method is presented in a rather general way and its stability is analyzed. An implementation is proposed for the Yee scheme. In this case, various numerical results in 3-D are presented in order to validate the approach and illustrate the practical interest of space-time mesh refinement methods.     

Lattice Boltzmann method for three-dimensional moving particles in a Newtonian fluid

A lattice Boltzmann method is developed to simulate three-dimensional solid particle motions in fluids. In the present model, a uniform grid is used and the exact spatial location of the physical boundary of the suspended particles is determined using an interpolation scheme. The numerical accuracy and efficiency of the proposed lattice Boltzmann method is demonstrated by simulating the sedimentation of a single sphere in a square cylinder. Highly accurate simulation results can be achieved with few meshes, compared with the previous lattice Boltzmann methods. The present method is expected to find applications on the flow systems with moving boundaries, such as the blood flow in distensible vessels, the particle－flow interaction and the solidification of alloys.     

Advanced lattice Boltzmann scheme for high-Reynolds-number magneto-hydrodynamic flows

Is the lattice Boltzmann method suitable to investigate numerically high-Reynolds-number magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) flows? It is shown that a standard approach based on the Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook (BGK) collision operator rapidly yields unstable simulations as the Reynolds number increases. In order to circumvent this limitation, it is here suggested to address the collision procedure in the space of central moments for the fluid dynamics. Therefore, an hybrid lattice Boltzmann scheme is introduced, which couples a central-moment scheme for the velocity with a BGK scheme for the space-and-time evolution of the magnetic field. This method outperforms the standard approach in terms of stability, allowing us to simulate high-Reynolds-number MHD flows with non-unitary Prandtl number while maintaining accuracy and physical consistency.     

高密度和高粘度比率下气液两相流动的数值模拟

本文在VOF方法的基础上,采用粗细两套网格对高密度和高粘度比率下的气液两相流动模拟进行了研究分析.在细网格中求解流体体积函数方程,在粗网格中采用交错网格求解动量方程和压力修正方程,通过粗细网格间的数据传递获得求解动量方程时需要的准确的界面密度和粘度及控制体密度,克服了高密度和高粘度比率下通过插值方法计算界面密度和粘度及控制体密度带来较大误差的困难,保证了质量和动量同时守恒.高密度和高粘度比率下气液两相流动中气液交界面处密度、速度和压力急剧变化,为了保证格式的有界性和稳定性,采用稳定的有界高阶组合格式STOIC.最后模拟了不同工况下气泡在液体中的运动,并通过实验和模拟结果验证了方法的可行性及准确性.     

Stabilized finite element method for incompressible flows with high Reynolds number

In the following paper, we discuss the exhaustive use and implementation of stabilization finite element methods for the resolution of the 3D time-dependent incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. The proposed method starts by the use of a finite element variational multiscale (VMS) method, which consists in here of a decomposition for both the velocity and the pressure fields into coarse/resolved scales and fine/unresolved scales. This choice of decomposition is shown to be favorable for simulating flows at high Reynolds number. We explore the behaviour and accuracy of the proposed approximation on three test cases. First, the lid-driven square cavity at Reynolds number up to 50,000 is compared with the highly resolved numerical simulations and second, the lid-driven cubic cavity up to Re = 12,000 is compared with the experimental data. Finally, we study the flow over a 2D backward-facing step at Re = 42,000. Results show that the present implementation is able to exhibit good stability and accuracy properties for high Reynolds number flows with unstructured meshes.     

Convection-Diffusion Lattice Boltzmann Scheme for Irregular Lattices

In this paper, a lattice Boltzmann (LB) scheme for convection diffusion on irregular lattices is presented, which is free of any interpolation or coarse graining step. The scheme is derived using the axioma that the velocity moments of the equilibrium distribution equal those of the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. The axioma holds for both Bravais and irregular lattices, implying a single framework for LB schemes for all lattice types. By solving benchmark problems we have shown that the scheme is indeed consistent with convection diffusion. Furthermore, we have compared the performance of the LB schemes with that of finite difference and finite element schemes. The comparison shows that the LB scheme has a similar performance as the one-step second-order Lax–Wendroff scheme: it has little numerical diffusion, but has a slight dispersion error. By changing the relaxation parameter ω the dispersion error can be balanced by a small increase of the numerical diffusion.     

A robust numerical scheme for highly compressible magnetohydrodynamics: Nonlinear stability,implementation and tests

The ideal MHD equations are a central model in astrophysics, and their solution relies upon stable numerical schemes. We present an implementation of a new method, which possesses excellent stability properties. Numerical tests demonstrate that the theoretical stability properties are valid in practice with negligible compromises to accuracy. The result is a highly robust scheme with state-of-the-art efficiency. The scheme’s robustness is due to entropy stability, positivity and properly discretised Powell terms. The implementation takes the form of a modification of the MHD module in the FLASH code, an adaptive mesh refinement code. We compare the new scheme with the standard FLASH implementation for MHD. Results show comparable accuracy to standard FLASH with the Roe solver, but highly improved efficiency and stability, particularly for high Mach number flows and low plasma β. The tests include 1D shock tubes, 2D instabilities and highly supersonic, 3D turbulence. We consider turbulent flows with RMS sonic Mach numbers up to 10, typical of gas flows in the interstellar medium. We investigate both strong initial magnetic fields and magnetic field amplification by the turbulent dynamo from extremely high plasma β. The energy spectra show a reasonable decrease in dissipation with grid refinement, and at a resolution of 512³ grid cells we identify a narrow inertial range with the expected power law scaling. The turbulent dynamo exhibits exponential growth of magnetic pressure, with the growth rate higher from solenoidal forcing than from compressive forcing. Two versions of the new scheme are presented, using relaxation-based 3-wave and 5-wave approximate Riemann solvers, respectively. The 5-wave solver is more accurate in some cases, and its computational cost is close to the 3-wave solver.     

Simulation of Combustion Field with Lattice Boltzmann Method

Turbulent combustion is ubiquitously used in practical combustion devices. However, even chemically non-reacting turbulent flows are complex phenomena, and chemical reactions make the problem even more complicated. Due to the limitation of the computational costs, conventional numerical methods are impractical in carrying out direct 3D numerical simulations at high Reynolds numbers with detailed chemistry. Recently, the lattice Boltzmann method has emerged as an efficient alternative for numerical simulation of complex flows. Compared with conventional methods, the lattice Boltzmann scheme is simple and easy for parallel computing. In this study, we present a lattice Boltzmann model for simulation of combustion, which includes reaction, diffusion, and convection. We assume the chemical reaction does not affect the flow field. Flow, temperature, and concentration fields are decoupled and solved separately. As a preliminary simulation, we study the so-called counter-flow laminar flame. The particular flow geometry has two opposed uniform combustible jets which form a stagnation flow. The results are compared with those obtained from solving Navier–Stokes equations.     

Preliminary Results in the Use of Energy-Dependent Octagonal Lattices for Thermal Lattice Boltzmann Simulations

Thermal lattice Boltzmann simulations are prone to severe numerical instabilities. While octagonal velocity lattices increase the range of temperatures that can be successfully simulated, the ranges are insufficient for many applications. Second order interpolation is required to correlate diagonal streaming to the square spatial grid. Here, the role of energy-dependent octagonal lattices is examined, an idea spawned from Gauss–Hermite quadratures. A nontrivial allocation scheme is now required to ensure moment conservation in connecting to the spatial grid. For the energy-dependent lattices, it is shown that there are no lower bounds to the temperature, thus allowing for higher Reynolds number simulations. Simulations are presented and compared to theory (viscosity and sound speed dependence on temperature) showing excellent agreement.     

Lattice Boltzmann Simulation of Shear-Thinning Fluids

It is shown how shear-thinning flow can be simulated without the need for numerical differentiation by following a lattice Boltzmann approach. The basic idea of is to combine the Cross model of viscosity with a 3D multiple relaxation time lattice Boltzmann method and to extract the required velocity derivatives from intrinsic quantities of the lattice Boltzmann scheme. Computational results are presented for a simple benchmark and for the simulation of liquid composite moulding.     

A time-reversal lattice Boltzmann method

In this paper we address the time-reversed simulation of viscous flows by the lattice Boltzmann method (LB). The theoretical derivation of the reversed LB from the Boltzmann equation is detailed, and the method implemented for weakly compressible flows using the D2Q9 scheme. The implementation of boundary conditions is also discussed. The accuracy and stability are illustrated by four test cases, namely the propagation of an acoustic wave in a medium at rest and in an uniform mean flow, the Taylor–Green vortex decay and the vortex pair–wall collision.     

格子Boltzmann亚格子模型的研究

为了将格子Boltzmann法应用于大雷诺数流动的模拟,本文将Smagorinsky亚格子模型和LBGK模型相结合,并对该亚格子LBM模型进行了研究。利用该亚格子LBM模型,对二维顶盖驱动流进行了模拟,得到了若干大雷诺数下流线图和方腔中心线上无量纲速度分布。计算结果与基准解进行比较,两者相互吻合。     

Nondissipative and energy-stable high-order finite-difference interface schemes for 2-D patch-refined grids

A class of finite-difference interface schemes suitable for two-dimensional cell-centered grids with patch-refinement and step-changes in resolution is presented. Grids of this type are generated by adaptive mesh refinement methods according to resolution needs dictated by the physics of the problem being modeled. For these grids, coarse and fine nodes are not aligned at the mesh interfaces, resulting in hanging nodes. Three distinct geometries are identified at the interfaces of a domain with interior patch-refinement: edges, concave corners and convex corners. Asymptotic stability in time of the numerical scheme is achieved by imposing a summation-by-parts condition on the interface closure, which is thus also nondissipative. Interface stencils corresponding to an explicit fourth-order finite-difference scheme are presented for each geometry. To preserve stability, a reduction in local accuracy is required at the corner geometries. It is also found that no second-order accurate solution exists that satisfies the summation-by-parts condition. Tests using the 2-D scalar advection equation and an inviscid compressible vortex support the stability and accuracy of these stencils for both linear and nonlinear problems.     

Simulating high Reynolds number flow in two-dimensional lid-driven cavity by multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann method

By coupling the non-equilibrium extrapolation scheme for boundary condition with the multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann method, this paper finds that the stability of the multi-relaxation-time model can be improved greatly, especially on simulating high Reynolds number (Re) flow. As a discovery, the super-stability analysed by Lallemand and Luo is verified and the complex structure of the cavity flow is also exhibited in our numerical simulation when Re is high enough. To the best knowledge of the authors, the maximum of Re which has been investigated by direct numerical simulation is only around 50,000 in the literature; however, this paper can readily extend the maximum to 1000,000 with the above combination.     

Lattice Boltzmann method for n-dimensional nonlinear hyperbolic conservation laws with the source term

It is important for nonlinear hyperbolic conservation laws (NHCL) to own a simulation scheme with high order accuracy, simple computation, and non-oscillatory character. In this paper, a unified and novel lattice Boltzmann model is presented for solving n-dimensional NHCL with the source term. By introducing the high order source term of explicit lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and the optimum dimensionless relaxation time varied with the specific issues, the effects of space and time resolutions on the accuracy and stability of the model are investigated for the different problems in one to three dimensions. Both the theoretical analysis and numerical simulation validate that the results by the proposed LBM have second-order accuracy in both space and time, which agree well with the analytical solutions.     

An Effective Method on Two-Dimensional Lattice Boltzmann Simulations with Moving Boundaries

We propose a lattice Boltzmann scheme for two-dimensional complex boundaries moving in fluid flow. The hydrodynamic forces exerting on the moving boundaries are calculated based on a stress-integration method proposed before, but the extrapolation procedure is avoided, and the stability of this model is improved. The accuracy and robustness are demonstrated by numerical simulations of a circular particle settling in a twodimensional vertical channel. The numerical convergence is studied by varying the time-step and the dimensionless particle sizes.