Application of lattice Boltzmann method in free surface flow simulation of micro injection molding

The filling flow in micro injection molding was simulated by using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). A tracking algorithm for free surface to handle the complex interaction between gas and liquid phases in LBM was used for the free surface advancement. The temperature field in the filling flow is also analyzed by combining the thermal lattice Boltzmann model and the free surface method. To simulate the fluid flow of polymer melt with a high Prandtl number and high viscosity, a modified lattice Boltzmann scheme was adopted by introducing a free parameter in the thermal diffusion equation to overcome the restriction of the thermal relaxation time. The filling flow simulation of micro injection molding was successfully performed in the study.     

Topology optimization of flow domains using the lattice Boltzmann method

We consider the optimal design of two- (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) flow domains using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) as an approximation of Navier-Stokes (NS) flows. The problem is solved by a topology optimization approach varying the effective porosity of a fictitious material. The boundaries of the flow domain are represented by potentially discontinuous material distributions. NS flows are traditionally approximated by finite element and finite volume methods. These schemes, while well established as high-fidelity simulation tools using body-fitted meshes, are effected in their accuracy and robustness when regular meshes with zero-velocity constraints along the surface and in the interior of obstacles are used, as is common in topology optimization. Therefore, we study the potential of the LBM for approximating low Mach number incompressible viscous flows for topology optimization. In the LBM the geometry of flow domains is defined in a discontinuous manner, similar to the approach used in material-based topology optimization. In addition, this non-traditional discretization method features parallel scalability and allows for high-resolution, regular fluid meshes. In this paper, we show how the variation of the porosity can be used in conjunction with the LBM for the optimal design of fluid domains, making the LBM an interesting alternative to NS solvers for topology optimization problems. The potential of our topology optimization approach will be illustrated by 2D and 3D numerical examples.     

Fully Lagrangian and Lattice Boltzmann Methods for the Advection-Diffusion Equation

In the last decade or so, the Lattice–Boltzmann method (LBM) has achieved great success in computational fluid dynamics. The Fully–Lagrangian method (FLM) is the generalization of LBM for conservation systems. LBM can also be developed from FLM. In this paper a FL model and a LB model are developed for D-dimensional advection-diffusion equation. The LB model can be viewed as an improved version of the FL model. Numerical results of simulation of 1-dimensional advection-diffusion equation are presented. The numerical results are found to be in good agreement with the analytic solution.     

Domain decomposition based coupling between the lattice Boltzmann method and traditional CFD methods—Part I: Formulation and application to the 2-D Burgers’ equation

The lattice Boltzmann method is being increasingly employed in the field of computational fluid dynamics due to its computational efficiency. Floating-point operations in the lattice Boltzmann method involve local data and therefore allow easy cache optimization and parallelization. Due to this, the cache-optimized lattice Boltzmann method has superior computational performance over traditional finite difference methods for solving unsteady flow problems. When solving steady flow problems, the explicit nature of the lattice Boltzmann discretization limits the time step size and therefore the efficiency of the lattice Boltzmann method for steady flows. To quantify the computational performance of the lattice Boltzmann method for steady flows, a comparison study between the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and the alternating direction implicit (ADI) method was performed using the 2-D steady Burgers’ equation. The comparison study showed that the LBM performs comparatively poor on high-resolution meshes due to smaller time step sizes, while on coarser meshes where the time step size is similar for both methods, the cache-optimized LBM performance is superior. Because flow domains can be discretized with multiblock grids consisting of coarse and fine grid blocks, the cache-optimized LBM can be applied on the coarse grid block while the traditional implicit methods are applied on the fine grid blocks. This paper finds the coupled cache-optimized lattice Boltzmann-ADI method to be faster by a factor of 4.5 over the traditional methods while maintaining similar accuracy.     

Three-dimensional discrete-velocity BGK model for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) has been widely used for the simulations of the incompressible Navier–Stokes (NS) equations. The finite difference Boltzmann method (FDBM) in which the discrete-velocity Boltzmann equation is solved instead of the lattice Boltzmann equation has also been applied as an alternative method for simulating the incompressible flows. The particle velocities of the FDBM can be selected independently from the lattice configuration. In this paper, taking account of this advantage, we present the discrete velocity Boltzmann equation that has a minimum set of the particle velocities with the lattice Bharnagar–Gross–Krook (BGK) model for the three-dimensional incompressible NS equations. To recover incompressible NS equations, tensors of the particle velocities have to be isotropic up to the fifth rank. Thus, we propose to apply the icosahedral vectors that have 13 degrees of freedom to the particle velocity distributions. Validity of the proposed model (D3Q13BGK) is confirmed by numerical simulations of the shear-wave decay problem and the Taylor–Green vortex problem. With respect to numerical accuracy, computational efficiency and numerical stability, we compare the proposed model with the conventional lattice BGK models (D3Q15, D3Q19 and D3Q27) and the multiple-relaxation-time (MRT) model (D3Q13MRT) that has the same degrees of freedom as our proposal. The comparisons show that the compressibility error of the proposed model is approximately double that of the conventional lattice BGK models, but the computational efficiency of the proposed model is superior to that of the others. The linear stability of the proposed model is also superior to that of the lattice BGK models. However, in non-linear simulations, the proposed model tends to be less stable than the others.     

基于格子Boltzmann方法的一维Burgers方程的数值模拟

基于格子Boltzmann方法(LBM)的一维Burgers方程的数值解法,已有2-bit和4-bit模型。文中通过选择合适的离散速度模型构造出恰当的平衡态分布函数; 然后, 利用单松弛的格子Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook模型、Chapman-Enskog展开和多尺度技术, 提出了用于求解一维Burgers方程的3-bit的格子Boltzmann模型,即D1Q3模型,并进行了数值实验。实验结果表明,该方法的数值解与解析解吻合的程度很好,且误差比现有文献中的误差更小,从而验证了格子Boltzamnn模型的有效性。     

Improved coupling of time integration and hydrodynamic interaction in particle suspensions using the lattice Boltzmann and discrete element methods

This paper introduces improvements to the simulation of particle suspensions using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and the discrete element method (DEM). First, the benefit of using a two-relaxation-time (TRT) collision operator, instead of the popular Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook (BGK) collision operator, is demonstrated. Second, a modified solid weighting function for the partially saturated method (PSM) for fluid–solid interaction is defined and tested. Results are presented for a range of flow configurations, including sphere packs, duct flows, and settling spheres, with good accuracy and convergence observed. Past research has shown that the drag, and consequently permeability, predictions of the LBM exhibit viscosity-dependence when used with certain boundary conditions such as bounce-back or interpolated bounce-back, and this is most pronounced when the BGK collision operator is employed. The improvements presented here result in a range of computational viscosities, and therefore relaxation parameters, within which drag and permeability predictions remain invariant. This allows for greater flexibility in using the relaxation parameter to adjust the LBM timestep, which can subsequently improve synchronisation with the time integration of the DEM. This has significant implications for the simulation of large-scale suspension phenomena, where the limits of computational hardware persistently constrain the resolution of the LBM lattice.     

An upwind discretization scheme for the finite volume lattice Boltzmann method

The fact that the classic lattice Boltzmann method is restricted to Cartesian Grids has inspired several researchers to apply Finite Volume [Nannelli F, Succi S. The lattice Boltzmann equation on irregular lattices. J Stat Phys 1992;68:401–7; Peng G, Xi H, Duncan C, Chou SH. Finite volume scheme for the lattice Boltzmann method on unstructured meshes. Phys Rev E 1999;59:4675–82; Chen H. Volumetric formulation of the lattice Boltzmann method for fluid dynamics: basic concept. Phys Rev E 1998;58:3955–63] or Finite Element [Lee T, Lin CL. A characteristic Galerkin method for discrete Boltzmann equation. J Comp Phys 2001;171:336–56; Shi X, Lin J, Yu Z. Discontinuous Galerkin spectral element lattice Boltzmann method on triangular element. Int J Numer Methods Fluids 2003;42:1249–61] methods to the Discrete Boltzmann equation. The finite volume method proposed by Peng et al. works on unstructured grids, thus allowing an increased geometrical flexibility. However, the method suffers from substantial numerical instability compared to the standard LBE models. The computational efficiency of the scheme is not competitive with standard methods.We propose an alternative way of discretizing the convection operator using an upwind scheme, as opposed to the central scheme described by Peng et al. We apply our method to some test problems in two spatial dimensions to demonstrate the improved stability of the new scheme and the significant improvement in computational efficiency. Comparisons with a lattice Boltzmann solver working on a hierarchical grid were done and we found that currently finite volume methods for the discrete Boltzmann equation are not yet competitive as stand alone fluid solvers.     

Conjugate heat transfer through nano scale porous media to optimize vacuum insulation panels with lattice Boltzmann methods

Due to reduced thermal conductivity, vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) provide significant thermal insulation performance. Our novel vacuum panels operate at reduced pressure and are filled with a powder of precipitated silicic acid to further hinder convection and provide static stability against atmospheric pressure. To obtain an in depth understanding of heat transfer mechanisms, their interactions and their dependencies inside VIPs, detailed microscale simulations are conducted.Particle characteristics for silica are used with a discrete element method (DEM) simulation, using open source software Yade-DEM, to generate a periodic compressed packing of precipitated silicic acid particles. This aggregate packing is then imported into OpenLB (openlb.net) as a fully resolved geometry, and used to study the effects on heat transfer at the microscale. A three dimensional Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for conjugated heat transfer is implemented with open source software OpenLB, which is extended to include radiative heat transport. The infrared intensity distribution is solved and coupled with the temperature through the emissivity, absorption and scattering of the studied media using the radiative transfer equation by means of LBM. This new holistic approach provides a distinct advantage over similar porous media approaches by providing direct control and tuning of particle packing characteristics such as aggregate size, shape and pore size distributions and studying their influence directly on conduction and radiation independently. Our aim is to generate one holistic tool which can be used to generate silica geometry and then simulate automatically the thermal conductivity through the generated geometry.     

Efficient LBM Visual Simulation on Face-Centered Cubic Lattices

The Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for visual simulation of fluid flow generally employs cubic Cartesian (CC) lattices such as the D3Q13 and D3Q19 lattices for the particle transport. However, the CC lattices lead to suboptimal representation of the simulation space. We introduce the face-centered cubic (FCC) lattice, fD3Q13, for LBM simulations. Compared to the CC lattices, the fD3Q13 lattice creates a more isotropic sampling of the simulation domain and its single lattice speed (i.e., link length) simplifies the computations and data storage. Furthermore, the fD3Q13 lattice can be decomposed into two independent interleaved lattices, one of which can be discarded, which doubles the simulation speed. The resulting LBM simulation can be efficiently mapped to the GPU, further increasing the computational performance. We show the numerical advantages of the FCC lattice on channeled flow in 2D and the flow-past-a-sphere benchmark in 3D. In both cases, the comparison is against the corresponding CC lattices using the analytical solutions for the systems as well as velocity field visualizations. We also demonstrate the performance advantages of the fD3Q13 lattice for interactive simulation and rendering of hot smoke in an urban environment using thermal LBM.     

LB-SGS方法和MRT-LBM方法对高雷诺数顶盖驱动流的数值模拟对比

针对格子Boltzmann方法(Lattice Boltzmann Method,LBM)广泛采用的LBGK模型虽然简单易行,但对高雷诺数流动模拟稳定性不佳的问题,分别采用结合亚格子模型的LBM(LBM with Sub Grid Scale(SGS),LB-SGS)方法和多松驰时间LBM(Multiple Relaxation Time(MRT)LBM,MRT-LBM)方法对高雷诺数顶盖驱动流进行数值模拟.取Re=7 500对比2种方法得到的涡位置与标准解之间的误差,结果表明LB-SGS方法更接近标准解;保持雷诺数和顶盖速度不变并减少格点数观察收敛情况,结果表明MRT-LBM方法更稳定.     

基于MRT-LBM方法的大规模可扩展并行计算研究

在大规模三维复杂流动的数值模拟中,针对具有良好数值稳定性的多弛豫时间模型格子Boltzmann方法(MRT-LBM),并结合大涡模拟湍流模型和曲面边界插值格式,分析了在D3Q19离散速度模型下的网格生成、流场信息初始化和迭代计算3部分的可并行性.采用MPI编程模型,从分布式集群的特点和计算量负载均衡的角度出发,分别提出了适合于大规模分布式集群的网格生成、流场信息初始化和迭代计算的并行算法.该并行算法也能有效适用于D3Q15和D3Q27离散速度模型.通过在国产神威蓝光超级计算机上的测试,分别针对求解问题总体计算规模固定和保持每个计算核中计算量一致的2种情况的并行性能分析,验证了该并行算法在十万计算核的量级下仍具有良好的加速比和可扩展性.     

基于Python的大规模高性能LBM多相流模拟

Python由于具有丰富的第三方库、开发高效等优点,已成为数据科学、智能科学等应用领域最流行的编程语言之一。Python强调了对科学与工程计算的支持,目前已积累了丰富的科学与工程计算库和工具。例如,SciPy和NumPy等数学库提供了高效的多维数组操作及丰富的数值计算功能。以往,Python主要作为脚本语言,起到连接数值模拟前处理、求解器和后处理的“胶水”功能,以提升数值模拟的自动化处理水平。近年来,国外已有学者尝试采用Python代码实现求解计算功能,并在高性能计算机上开展了超大规模并行计算研究,取得了不错的效果。由于自身特点,高效大规模Python数值模拟的实现和性能优化与传统基于C/C++和Fortran的数值模拟等具有很大的不同。文中实现了国际上首个完全基于Python的大规模并行三维格子玻尔兹曼多相流模拟代码PyLBMFlow,探索了Python大规模高性能计算和性能优化方法。首先,利用NumPy多维数组和通用函数设计实现了LBM流场数据结构和典型计算内核,通过一系列性能优化并对LBM边界处理算法进行重构,大幅提升了Python的计算效率,相对于基准实现,优化后的串行性能提升了两个量级。在此基础上,采用三维流场区域分解方法,基于mpi4py和Cython实现了MPI+OpenMP混合并行;在天河二号超级计算机上成功模拟了基于D3Q19离散方法和Shan-Chen BGK碰撞模型的气液两相流,算例规模达百亿网格,并行规模达1024个结点,并行效率超过90%。     

Domain decomposition based coupling between the lattice Boltzmann method and traditional CFD methods – Part II: Numerical solution to the backward facing step flow

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and traditional finite difference methods have separate strengths when solving the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. The LBM is an explicit method with a highly local computational nature that uses floating-point operations that involve only local data and thereby enables easy cache optimization and parallelization. However, because the LBM is an explicit method, smaller grid spacing requires smaller numerical time steps during both transient and steady state computations. Traditional implicit finite difference methods can take larger time steps as they are not limited by the CFL condition, but only by the need for time accuracy during transient computations. To take advantage of the strengths of both methods, a multiple solver, multiple grid block approach was implemented and validated for the 2-D Burgers’ equation in Part I of this work. Part II implements the multiple solver, multiple grid block approach for the 2-D backward step flow problem. The coupled LBM–VSM solver is found to be faster by a factor of 2.90 (2.87 and 2.93 for Re = 150 and Re = 500, respectively) on a single processor than the VSM for the 2-D backward step flow problem while maintaining similar accuracy.     

Visual simulation of heat shimmering and mirage

We provide a physically-based framework for simulating the natural phenomena related to heat interaction between objects and the surrounding air. We introduce a heat transfer model between the heat source objects and the ambient flow environment, which includes conduction, convection, and radiation. The heat distribution of the objects is represented by a novel temperature texture. We simulate the thermal flow dynamics that models the air flow interacting with the heat by a hybrid thermal lattice Boltzmann model (HTLBM). The computational approach couples a multiple-relaxation-time LBM (MRTLBM) with a finite difference discretization of a standard advection-diffusion equation for temperature. In heat shimmering and mirage, the changes in the index of refraction of the surrounding air are attributed to temperature variation. A nonlinear ray tracing method is used for rendering. Interactive performance is achieved by accelerating the computation of both the MRTLBM and the heat transfer, as well as the rendering on contemporary graphics hardware (GPU)     

Lattice Boltzmann equation for axisymmetric thermal flows

A simple lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) model for axisymmetric thermal flow is proposed in this paper. The flow field is solved by a quasi-two-dimensional nine-speed (D2Q9) LBE, while the temperature field is solved by another four-speed (D2Q4) LBE. The model is validated by a thermal flow in a pipe and some nontrivial thermal buoyancy-driven flows in vertical cylinders, including Rayleigh-Bénard convection, natural convection, and heat transfer of swirling flows. It is found that the numerical results agree excellently with analytical solution or other numerical results.     

多重网格格子Boltzmann方法的并行算法

针对复杂流动数值模拟中的格子Boltzmann方法存在计算网格量大、收敛速度慢的缺点,提出了基于三维几何边界的多重笛卡儿网格并行生成算法,并基于该网格生成方法提出了多重网格并行格子Boltzmann方法（LBM）。该方法结合不同尺度网格间的耦合计算,有效减少了计算网格量,提高了收敛速度;而且测试结果也表明该并行算法具有良好的可扩展性。     

Large eddy simulation of turbulent open duct flow using a lattice Boltzmann approach

Large eddy simulations of turbulent open duct flow are performed using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) in conjunction with the Smagorinsky sub-grid scale (SGS) model. A smaller value of the Smagorinsky constant than the usually used one in plain channel flow simulations is used. Results for the mean flow and turbulent fluctuations are compared to experimental data obtained in an open duct of similar dimensions. It is found that the LBM simulation results are in good qualitative agreement with the experiments.     

A discrete Boltzmann equation model for two-phase shallow granular flows

In this paper a Discrete Boltzmann Equation model (hereinafter DBE) is proposed as solution method of the two-phase shallow granular flow equations, a complex nonlinear partial differential system, resulting from the depth-averaging procedure of mass and momentum equations of granular flows. The latter, as e.g. a debris flow, are flows of mixtures of solid particles dispersed in an ambient fluid.The reason to use a DBE, instead of a more conventional numerical model (e.g. based on Riemann solvers), is that the DBE is a set of linear advection equations, which replaces the original complex nonlinear partial differential system, while preserving the features of its solutions. The interphase drag function, an essential characteristic of any two-phase model, is accounted for easily in the DBE by adding a physically based term. In order to show the validity of the proposed approach, the following relevant benchmark tests have been considered: the 1D simple Riemann problem, the dam break problem with the wet–dry transition of the liquid phase, the dry bed generation and the perturbation of a state at rest in 2D. Results are satisfactory and show how the DBE is able to reproduce the dynamics of the two-phase shallow granular flow.     

A front-tracking lattice Boltzmann method to study flow-induced deformation of three-dimensional capsules

In this paper, a hybrid method is proposed to study the flow-induced deformation of three-dimensional capsules. The capsules consist of Newtonian liquid drops enclosed by thin elastic membranes. In the proposed approach, the front-tracking method is coupled with the lattice Boltzmann method. The fluids inside and outside the capsule is treated as one fluid with varying physical properties, and is modeled by the lattice Boltzmann equation. The capsule membrane is explicitly tracked by the membrane nodes that are advected by the flow. The multi-block strategy of the lattice Boltzmann method is employed to refine the mesh near the capsule, which greatly increase the accuracy and efficiency of the three-dimensional computation. The capsule membrane is discretized into unstructured flat triangular elements, and a finite element model is incorporated to account for the membrane mechanics. With the present method, the transient deformation of initially spherical capsules with membrane following Neo-Hookean constitutive laws is simulated in shear flow, under various dimensionless shear rates and ratios of internal to surrounding liquid viscosities. The present results, including the Taylor shape parameter, the capsule inclination angle and the tank-treading frequency, agree well with previously published numerical results.