Lattice Boltzmann large eddy simulation of subcritical flows around a sphere on non-uniform grids

In this work, the suitability of the lattice Boltzmann method is evaluated for the simulation of subcritical turbulent flows around a sphere. Special measures are taken to reduce the computational cost without sacrificing the accuracy of the method. A large eddy simulation turbulence model is employed to allow efficient simulation of resolved flow structures on non-uniform computational meshes. In the vicinity of solid walls, where the flow is governed by the presence of a thin boundary layer, local grid-refinement is employed in order to capture the fine structures of the flow. In the test case considered, reference values for the drag force in the Reynolds number range from 2000 to 10 000 and for the surface pressure distribution and the angle of separation at a Reynolds number of 10 000 could be quantitatively reproduced. A parallel efficiency of 80% was obtained on an Opteron cluster.