Project Update – LBM

Simulations on Standing Waves

Wooram Seok
Moin Group, Stanford University
 Background
• Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is a relatively novel approach to
solving fluid dynamics problems
• Coarse-grained modular method (makes parallelization + Multiphysics
easier to calculate
• Has been applied mostly to research such as contact angle
approximations and EOS-based simulations of real gases in order to
set up for later a priori investigations (Huang 2007, Yuan & Schaefer
2006)
• Has not been heavily used in turbulence-focused problems
Eq. 1.: Collision + streaming steps combined with discretized BGK Fig. 1: Streaming and Collision steps shown visually
relaxation term in LBM (base structure before external
forcing terms)
Objectives
• Emulate periodic standing waves using LBM simulations from Palabos,
an open-source code (wave parameters from Chen et al., 1999; initial
steepness of ε = 0.55)
• Check for sensitivity to parameters + ease of modification
• Check speed

Eq. 2: The initial wave profile as described by the wave slope/steepness ε

Initial Try: Shan-Chen SCMP
• Shan-Chen SCMP = Single Component Multi-Phase simulation based
off the nearest-neighbor pseudopotential model of Shan and Chen
(1993)

Eqs. 3-5: The pseudopotential described by Shan and Chen with a simplified constant interaction function.
Initial Try: Shan-Chen SCMP
• Hard to balance between relaxation, phase separation, and the
velocity/gravitational potentials of the waves
• Usually relaxation or phase separation tend to take over unless gravity
potential is about same magnitude as either force

T=0 T = 50 T = 100
Shown above: SCMP simulation with 400x400 grid run for 5000 timesteps (only initial 100 shown;
zero horizontal velocity potential)
Second Try: Binary Fluids
• Works in terms of displaying macroscale wave properties more
accurately
• Hard to extend to thermodynamic phenomena since immiscible (e.g.:
temperature gradient into phase change)

T=0 T = 50 T = 100
Shown above: Binary fluid simulation with 400x400 grid run for 5000 timesteps (only initial 100 shown)
Problems and Future Potential Investigations
• How to either:
• Extend binary fluid/multicomponent simulations to include phase
phenomena, or
• Fix ICs/parameters of SCMP so that immediate stabilization and accurate
macroscopic properties appear

• Speed of this in 3D/more complex calculations? (8m40s for 5k

timesteps on 400x400 2D grid)
• Applying more realistic (e.g.: Carnahan-Starling) EOS/linking to real
gases?