Simulation of natural convection under high magnetic field by means of the thermal lattice Boltzmann method

The thermal lattice Boltzmann method (TLBM), which was proposed by J. G. M. Eggels and J. A. Somers previously, has been improved in this paper. The improved method has introduced a new equilibrium solution for the temperature distribution function on the assumption that flow is incompressible, and it can correct the effect of compressibility on the macroscopic temperature computed. Compared to the previous method, where the half-way bounce back boundary condition was used for non-slip velocity and temperature, a non-equilibrium extrapolation scheme has been adopted for both velocity and temperature boundary conditions in this paper. Its second-order accuracy coincides with the ensemble accuracy of lattice Boltzmann method. In order to validate the improved thermal scheme, the natural convection of air in a square cavity is simulated by using this method. The results obtained in the simulation agree very well with the data of other numerical methods and benchmark data. It is indicated that the improved TLBM is also successful for the simulations of non-isothermal flows. Moreover, this thermal scheme can be applied to simulate the natural convection in a non-uniform high magnetic field. The simulation has been completed in a square cavity filled with the aqueous solutions of KCl (11wt%), which is considered as a diamagnetic fluid with electrically low-conducting, with Grashof number Gr=4.64× 10^4 and Prandtl number Pr=7.0. And three cases, with different cavity locations in the magnetic field, have been studied. In the presence of a high magnetic field, the natural convection is quenched by the body forces exerted on the electrically low-conducting fluids, such as the magnetization force and the Lorentz force. From the results obtained, it can be seen that the quenching efficiencies decrease with the variation of location from left, symmetrical line, to the right. These phenomena originate from the different distributions of the magnetic field strengths in the zones of the symmetrical central line of the magnetic fields. The results are also compared with those without a magnetic field. Finally, we can conclude that the improved TLBM will enable effective simulation of the natural convection under a high magnetic field.     

基于热格子Boltzmann方法的自然对流数值模拟

对Eggels和Somers提出的热格子Boltzmann格式进行了改进. 在不可压缩流动的假设下,提出了一种新的温度平衡分布函数,可以克服压缩性对温度统计的影响,并且相应地修正了统计宏观温度的方法. Eggels和Somers的方法对速度和温度均采用半步长反弹格式边界条件,适合无滑移的速度边界条件.但是对温度采用该边界条件在物理本质上显得不够准确,所以在边界上对二者统一采取算法既简单又容易实现的非平衡态外推格式,同时可以与Boltzmann格式的整体二阶精度保持一致. 最后,利用改进的热格子Boltzmann方法(TLBM)模拟了Ra=10^6和Pr=0.71(空气)的方腔中的自然对流,模拟得到的流动参数与其它数值方法的结果吻合得很好,表明改进的热格子Boltzmann方法可以有效准确地模拟非等温流动.