A lattice Boltzmann model is proposed for solving low Mach number thermal flows with viscous dissipation and compression work in the double-distribution-function framework. A distribution function representing the total energy is defined based on a single velocity distribution function, and its evolution equation is derived from the continuous Boltzmann equation. A lattice Boltzmann equation model with clear physics and a simple structure is then obtained from a kinetic model for the decoupled hydrodynamic and energy equations. The model is tested by simulating a thermal Poiseuille flow and natural convection in a square cavity, and it is found that the numerical results agree well with the analytical solutions and/or the data reported in previous studies.

A lattice Boltzmann model for convection-diffusion equation with nonlinear convection and isotropic-diffusion terms is proposed through selecting equilibrium distribution function properly. The model can be applied to the common real and complex-valued nonlinear evolutionary equations, such as the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, Burgers-Fisher equation, nonlinear heat conduction equation, and sine-Gordon equation, by using a real and complex-valued distribution function and relaxation time. Detailed simulations of these equations are performed, and it is found that the numerical results agree well with the analytical solutions and the numerical solutions reported in previous studies.

In this paper, a phase-field-based multiple-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann (LB) model is proposed for incompressible multiphase flow systems. In this model, one distribution function is used to solve the Chan-Hilliard equation and the other is adopted to solve the Navier-Stokes equations. Unlike previous phase-field-based LB models, a proper source term is incorporated in the interfacial evolution equation such that the Chan-Hilliard equation can be derived exactly and also a pressure distribution is designed to recover the correct hydrodynamic equations. Furthermore, the pressure and velocity fields can be calculated explicitly. A series of numerical tests, including Zalesak's disk rotation, a single vortex, a deformation field, and a static droplet, have been performed to test the accuracy and stability of the present model. The results show that, compared with the previous models, the present model is more stable and achieves an overall improvement in the accuracy of the capturing interface. In addition, compared to the single-relaxation-time LB model, the present model can effectively reduce the spurious velocity and fluctuation of the kinetic energy. Finally, as an application, the Rayleigh-Taylor instability at high Reynolds numbers is investigated.

The standard lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) is inadequate for simulating gas flows with a large Knudsen number. In this paper we propose a generalized lattice Boltzmann equation with effective relaxation times based on a recently developed generalized Navier-Stokes constitution [Guo, Europhys Lett. 80, 24001 (2007)] for nonequilibrium flows. A kinetic boundary condition corresponding to a generalized second-order slip scheme is also designed for the model. The LBE model and the boundary condition are analyzed for a unidirectional flow, and it is found that in order to obtain the generalized Navier-Stokes equations, the relaxation times must be properly chosen and are related to the boundary condition. Numerical results show that the proposed method is able to capture the Knudsen layer phenomenon and can yield improved predictions in comparison with the standard lattice Boltzmann equation.

A lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) for axisymmetric flows is proposed. The model has some distinct features that distinguish it from existing axisymmetric LBE models. First, it is derived from the Boltzmann equation so that it has a solid physics base and is easy for generalization; second, the model can describe the axial, radial, and azimuthal velocity components in the same fashion; and third, the source terms of the model contain no velocity gradients and are much simpler than other LBE models. Numerical tests, including steady and unsteady internal and external flows, demonstrate that the proposed LBE can serve as a viable and efficient method for low speed axisymmetric flows.

The lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) has shown its promise in the simulation of microscale gas flows. One of the critical issues with this advanced method is to specify suitable slip boundary conditions to ensure simulation accuracy. In this paper we study two widely used kinetic boundary conditions in the LBE: the combination of the bounce-back and specular-reflection scheme and the discrete Maxwell's scheme. We show that (i) both schemes are virtually equivalent in principle, and (ii) there exist discrete effects in both schemes. A strategy is then proposed to adjust the parameters in the two kinetic boundary conditions such that an accurate slip boundary condition can be implemented. The numerical results demonstrate that the corrected boundary conditions are robust and reliable.

In this paper, a general bounce-back scheme is proposed to implement concentration or thermal boundary conditions of convection-diffusion equation with the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). Using this scheme, the general concentration boundary conditions, i.e., b1(∂Cw/∂n) + b2Cw = b3, can be easily implemented at boundaries with complex geometry structure like that in porous media. The numerical results obtained using the present scheme are in excellent agreement with the analytical solutions of flows with both stationary and moving interfaces. Furthermore, to better understand the halfway bounce-back scheme, an analytical study of the concentration jump is presented. The studies of theoretical analysis and numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed scheme has second-order accuracy.

In this paper, we present a simple and accurate lattice Boltzmann (LB) model for immiscible two-phase flows, which is able to deal with large density contrasts. This model utilizes two LB equations, one of which is used to solve the conservative Allen-Cahn equation, and the other is adopted to solve the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. A forcing distribution function is elaborately designed in the LB equation for the Navier-Stokes equations, which make it much simpler than the existing LB models. In addition, the proposed model can achieve superior numerical accuracy compared with previous Allen-Cahn type of LB models. Several benchmark two-phase problems, including static droplet, layered Poiseuille flow, and spinodal decomposition are simulated to validate the present LB model. It is found that the present model can achieve relatively small spurious velocity in the LB community, and the obtained numerical results also show good agreement with the analytical solutions or some available results. Lastly, we use the present model to investigate the droplet impact on a thin liquid film with a large density ratio of 1000 and the Reynolds number ranging from 20 to 500. The fascinating phenomena of droplet splashing is successfully reproduced by the present model and the numerically predicted spreading radius exhibits to obey the power law reported in the literature.