Factorization symmetry in the lattice Boltzmann method

A non-perturbative algebraic theory of the lattice Boltzmann method is developed based on the symmetry of a product. It involves three steps: (i) Derivation of admissible lattices in one spatial dimension through a matching condition which imposes restricted extension of higher-order Gaussian moments, (ii) A special quasi-equilibrium distribution function found analytically in closed form on the product-lattice in two and three spatial dimensions, and which proves the factorization of quasi-equilibrium moments, and (iii) An algebraic method of pruning based on a one-into-one relation between groups of discrete velocities and moments. Two routes of constructing lattice Boltzmann equilibria are distinguished. The present theory includes previously known limiting and special cases of lattices, and enables automated derivation of lattice Boltzmann models from two-dimensional tables, by finding the roots of one polynomial and solving a few linear systems.     

A Lattice Boltzmann Kinetic Model for Microflow and Heat Transfer

In this paper, we propose a lattice Boltzmann BGK model for simulation of micro flows with heat transfer based on kinetic theory and the thermal lattice Boltzmann method (He et al., J. Comp. Phys. 146:282, 1998). The relaxation times are redefined in terms of the Knudsen number and a diffuse scattering boundary condition (DSBC) is adopted to consider the velocity slip and temperature jump at wall boundaries. To check validity and potential of the present model in modelling the micro flows, two two-dimensional micro flows including thermal Couette flow and thermal developing channel flow are simulated and numerical results obtained compare well with previous studies of the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC), molecular dynamics (MD) approaches and the Maxwell theoretical analysis     

A lattice Boltzmann model for the generalized Burgers-Huxley equation

In this paper we develop a lattice Boltzmann model for the generalized Burgers-Huxley equation (GBHE). By choosing the proper time and space scales and applying the Chapman-Enskog expansion, the governing equation is recovered correctly from the lattice Boltzmann equation, and the local equilibrium distribution functions are obtained. Excellent agreement with the exact solution is observed, and better numerical accuracy is obtained than the available numerical result. The results indicate the present model is satisfactory and efficient. The method can also be applied to the generalized Burgers-Fisher equation and be extended to multidimensional cases.     

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.     

Double MRT thermal lattice Boltzmann method for simulating convective flows

A two-dimensional double Multiple Relaxation Time-Thermal Lattice Boltzmann Equation (2-MRT-TLBE) method is developed for predicting convective flows in a square differentially heated cavity filled with air (Pr=0.71). In this Letter, we propose a numerical scheme to solve the flow and the temperature fields using the MRT-D2Q9 model and the MRT-D2Q5 model, respectively. Thus, the main objective of this study is to show the effectiveness of such model to predict thermodynamics for heat transfer. This model is validated by the numerical simulations of the 2-D convective square cavity flow. Excellent agreements are obtained between numerical predictions. These results demonstrate the accuracy and the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.     

Global existence of solutions for a model Boltzmann equation

A model recently introduced by Ianiro and Lebowitz is shown to have a global solution for initial data having a finiteH-functional and belonging toL ¹ (L _x ). Methods previously introduced by Tartar to deal with discrete velocity models are used.     

Thermal equation of state for lattice Boltzmann gases

The Galilean invariance and the induced thermo-hydrodynamics of the lattice Boltzmann Bhatnagar--Gross--Krook model are proposed together with their rigorous theoretical background. From the viewpoint of group invariance, recovering the Galilean invariance for the isothermal lattice Boltzmann Bhatnagar--Gross--Krook equation (LBGKE) induces a new natural thermal-dynamical system, which is compatible with the elementary statistical thermodynamics.     

Direct assessment of lattice Boltzmann hydrodynamics and boundary conditions for recirculating flows

A hydrodynamic boundary condition is developed for lattice Boltzmann hydrodynamics using a square, orthogonal grid. A constraint based on energy considerations is developed to provide closure for the equations which govern the particle distribution at the boundaries. This boundary condition is applied to the two-dimensional, steady flow of an incompressible fluid behind a grid, known as Kovasznay flow. The results are compared to those using alternate boundary conditions using the known exact solution. The hydrodynamic boundary condition produces quadratic spatial convergence, while alternate techniques fail to maintain this second-order accuracy.     

A improved incompressible lattice Boltzmann model for time-independent flows

It is well known that the lattice Boltzmann equation method (LBE) can model the incompressible Navier-Stokes (NS) equations in the limit where density goes to a constant. In a LBE simulation, however, the density cannot be constant because pressure is equal to density times the square of sound speed, hence a compressibility error seems inevitable for the LBE to model incompressible flows. This work uses a modified equilibrium distribution and a modified velocity to construct an LBE which models time-independent (steady) incompressible flows with significantly reduced compressibility error. Computational results in 2D cavity flow and in a 2D flow with an exact solution are reported.     

Reciprocal relations based on the non-stationary Boltzmann equation

The reciprocal relations for open gaseous systems are obtained on the basis of main properties of the non-stationary Boltzmann equation and gas-surface interaction law. It is shown that the main principles to derive the kinetic coefficients satisfying the reciprocal relations remain the same as those used for time-independent gaseous systems [F. Sharipov, Onsager-Casimir reciprocal relations based on the Boltzmann equation and gas-surface interaction law single gas, Phys. Rev. 73 (2006) 026110]. First, the kinetic coefficients are obtained from the entropy production expression; then it is proved that the coefficient matrix calculated for time reversed source functions is symmetric. The proof is based on the reversibility of the gas-gas and gas-surface interactions. Three examples of applications of the present theory are given. None of these examples can be treated in the frame of the classical Onsager-Casimir reciprocal relations, which are valid only in a particular case, when the kinetic coefficients are odd or even with respect to the time reversion. The approach is generalized for gaseous mixtures.     

A fluctuating lattice Boltzmann scheme for the one-dimensional KPZ equation

Based on the well-known mapping between the Burgers equation with noise and the Kardar–Parisi–Zhang (KPZ) equation for fluctuating interfaces, we develop a fluctuating lattice Boltzmann (LB) scheme for growth phenomena, as described by the KPZ formalism. A very simple LB-KPZ scheme is demonstrated in 1+1 spacetime dimensions, and is shown to reproduce the scaling exponents characterizing the growth of one-dimensional fluctuating interfaces.     

Multiple-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann model for the convection and anisotropic diffusion equation

A lattice Boltzmann model with a multiple-relaxation-time (MRT) collision operator for the convection–diffusion equation is presented. The model uses seven discrete velocities in three dimensions (D3Q7 model). The off-diagonal components of the relaxation-time matrix, which originate from the rotation of the principal axes, enable us to take into account full anisotropy of diffusion. An asymptotic analysis of the model equation with boundary rules for the Dirichlet and Neumann-type (specified flux) conditions is carried out to show that the model is first- and second-order accurate in time and space, respectively. The results of the analysis are verified by several numerical examples. It is also shown numerically that the error of the MRT model is less sensitive to the variation of the relaxation-time coefficients than that of the classical BGK model. In addition, an alternative treatment for the Neumann-type boundary condition that improves the accuracy on a curved boundary is presented along with a numerical example of a spherical boundary.     

Asymptotic analysis of the lattice Boltzmann equation

In this article we analyze the lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) by using the asymptotic expansion technique. We first relate the LBE to the finite discrete-velocity model (FDVM) of the Boltzmann equation with the diffusive scaling. The analysis of this model directly leads to the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations, as opposed to the compressible Navier–Stokes equations obtained by the Chapman–Enskog analysis with convective scaling. We also apply the asymptotic analysis directly to the fully discrete LBE, as opposed to the usual practice of analyzing a continuous equation obtained through the Taylor-expansion of the LBE. This leads to a consistency analysis which provides order-by-order information about the numerical solution of the LBE. The asymptotic technique enables us to analyze the structure of the leading order errors and the accuracy of numerically derived quantities, such as vorticity. It also justifies the use of Richardson’s extrapolation method. As an example, a two-dimensional Taylor-vortex flow is used to validate our analysis. The numerical results agree very well with our analytic predictions.     

Coarsely grained stochastic Boltzmann equation and its moment equations

The stochastic Boltzmann equation is coarsely grained. The coarsely grained stochastic (CGS) Boltzmann equation has fluctuating terms in its collision term. On the basis of the CGS Boltzmann equation, reduced Grad’s 26 moment equations are derived. Coarsely grained moment equations obtained from the CGS Boltzmann equation show that fluctuating terms remain as nonvanishing terms owing to the nonlinearity in the collision term of the CGS Boltzmann equation. The Navier-Stokes-Fourier law obtained using the CGS Boltzmann equation indicates that the pressure deviator and heat flux include fluctuations of their one-order higher moments.     

Entropy dissipation and moment production for the Boltzmann equation

LetH(f/M)=flog(f/M)dv be the relative entropy off and the Maxwellian with the same mass, momentum, and energy, and denote the corresponding entropy dissipation term in the Boltzmann equation byD(f)=Q(f,f) logf dv. An example is presented which shows that |D(f)/H(f/M)| can be arbitrarily small. This example is a sequence of isotropic functions, and the estimates are very explicitly given by a simple formula forD which holds for such functions. The paper also gives a simplified proof of the so-called Povzner inequality, which is a geometric inequality for the magnitudes of the velocities before and after an elastic collision. That inequality is then used to prove that f(v) |v|^s dt<C(t), wheref is the solution of the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation. HereC(t) is an explicitly given function dependings and the mass, energy, and entropy of the initial data.     

On the linearized relativistic Boltzmann equation. II. Existence of hydrodynamics

Solutions are analyzed of the linearized relativistic Boltzmann equation for initial data fromL ²(r, p) in long-time and/or small-mean-free-path limits. In both limits solutions of this equation converge to approximate ones constructed with solutions of the set of differential equations called the equations of relativistic hydrodynamics.     

Non—equilibrium extrapolation method for velocity and pressure boundary conditions in the lattice Boltzmann method

In this paper, we propose a new approach to implementing boundary conditions in the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The basic idea is to decompose the distribution function at the boundary node into its equilibrium and non-equilibrium parts, and then to approximate the non-equilibrium part with a first-order extrapolation of the non-equilibrium part of the distribution at the neighbouring fluid node. Schemes for velocity and pressure boundary conditions are constructed based on this method. The resulting schemes are of second-order accuracy. Numerical tests show that the numerical solutions of the LBM together with the present boundary schemes are in excellent agreement with the analytical solutions. Second-order convergence is also verified from the results. It is also found that the numerical stability of the present schemes is much better than that of the original extrapolation schemes proposed by Chen et al. (1996 Phys. Fluids 8 2527).     

A lattice Boltzmann equation for diffusion

The formulation of lattice gas automata (LGA) for given partial differential equations is not straightforward and still requires some sort of magic. Lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) models are much more flexible than LGA because of the freedom in choosing equilibrium distributions with free parameters which can be set after a multiscale expansion according to certain requirements. Here a LBE is presented for diffusion in an arbitrary number of dimensions. The model is probably the simplest LBE which can be formulated. It is shown that the resulting algorithm with relaxation parameter =1 is identical to an explicit finite-difference (EFD) formulation at its stability limit. Underrelaxation (0<<1) allows stable integration beyond the stability limit of EFD. The time step of the explicit LBE integration is limited by accuracy and not by stability requirements.     

Local second-order boundary methods for lattice Boltzmann models

A new way to implement solid obstacles in lattice Boltzmann models is presented. The unknown populations at the boundary nodes are derived from the locally known populations with the help of a second-order Chapman-Enskog expansion and Dirichlet boundary conditions with a given momentum. Steady flows near a flat wall, arbitrarily inclined with respect to the lattice links, are then obtained with a third-order error. In particular, Couette and Poiseuille flows are exactly recovered without the Knudsen layers produced for inclined walls by the bounce back condition.     

Lattice Boltzmann method for the generalized Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation

In this paper, a lattice Boltzmann model with an amending function is proposed for the generalized Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation that has the form u_t+uu_x+αu_xx+βu_xxx+γu_xxxx=0. With the Chapman-Enskog expansion, the governing evolution equation is recovered correctly from the continuous Boltzmann equation. It is found that the numerical results agree well with the analytical solutions.