A lattice-boltzmann method for partially saturated computational cells

Abstract

The lattice-Boltzmann (LB) method is applied to complex, moving geometries in which computational cells are partially filled with fluid. The LB algorithm is modified to include a term that depends on the percentage of the cell saturated with fluid. The method is useful for modeling suspended obstacles that do not conform to the grid. Another application is to simulations of flow through reconstructed media that are not easily segmented into solid and liquid regions. A detailed comparison is made with FIDAP simulation results for the flow about a periodic line of cylinders in a channel at a nonzero Reynolds number. Two cases are examined. In the first simulation, the cylinders are given a constant velocity along the axis of the channel, and the steady solution is acquired. The transient behavior of the system is then studied by giving the cylinders an oscillatory velocity. For both steady and oscillatory flows, the method provides excellent agreement with FIDAP simulation results, even at locations close to the surface of a cylinder. In contrast to step-like solutions produced using the "bounce-back" condition, the proposed condition gives close agreement with the smooth FIDAP predictions. Computed drag forces with the proposed condition exhibit apparent quadratic convergence with grid refinement rather than the linear convergence exhibited by other LB boundary conditions.