A discrete Boltzmann model (DBM) is developed to investigate the hydrodynamic and thermodynamic non-equilibrium (TNE) effects in phase separation processes. The interparticle force drives changes and the gradient force, induced by gradients of macroscopic quantities, opposes them. In this paper, we investigate the interplay between them by providing a detailed inspection of various non-equilibrium observables. Based on the TNE features, we define TNE strength which roughly estimates the deviation amplitude from the thermodynamic equilibrium. The time evolution of the TNE intensity provides a convenient and efficient physical criterion to discriminate the stages of the spinodal decomposition and domain growth. Via the DBM simulation and this criterion, we quantitatively study the effects of latent heat and surface tension on phase separation. It is found that the TNE strength attains its maximum at the end of the spinodal decomposition stage, and it decreases when the latent heat increases from zero. The surface tension effects are threefold, prolong the duration of the spinodal decomposition stage, decrease the maximum TNE intensity, and accelerate the speed of the domain growth stage.

The effects of compressibility on Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) are investigated by inspecting the interplay between thermodynamic and hydrodynamic nonequilibrium phenomena (TNE, HNE, respectively) via a discrete Boltzmann model. Two effective approaches are presented, one tracking the evolution of the local TNE effects and the other focusing on the evolution of the mean temperature of the fluid, to track the complex interfaces separating the bubble and the spike regions of the flow. It is found that both the compressibility effects and the global TNE intensity show opposite trends in the initial and the later stages of the RTI. Compressibility delays the initial stage of RTI and accelerates the later stage. Meanwhile, the TNE characteristics are generally enhanced by the compressibility, especially in the later stage. The global or mean thermodynamic nonequilibrium indicators provide physical criteria to discriminate between the two stages of the RTI.

In this mini-review we summarize the progress of Lattice Boltzmann(LB) modeling and simulat-

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We investigate thermal and isothermal symmetric liquid-vapor separations via a fast Fourier transform thermal lattice Boltzmann (FFT-TLB) model. Structure factor, domain size, and Minkowski functionals are employed to characterize the density and velocity fields, as well as to understand the configurations and the kinetic processes. Compared with the isothermal phase separation, the freedom in temperature prolongs the spinodal decomposition (SD) stage and induces different rheological and morphological behaviors in the thermal system. After the transient procedure, both the thermal and isothermal separations show power-law scalings in domain growth, while the exponent for thermal system is lower than that for isothermal system. With respect to the density field, the isothermal system presents more likely bicontinuous configurations with narrower interfaces, while the thermal system presents more likely configurations with scattered bubbles. Heat creation, conduction, and lower interfacial stresses are the main reasons for the differences in thermal system. Different from the isothermal case, the release of latent heat causes the changing of local temperature, which results in new local mechanical balance. When the Prandtl number becomes smaller, the system approaches thermodynamical equilibrium much more quickly. The increasing of mean temperature makes the interfacial stress lower in the following way: σ=σ(0)[(T(c)-T)/(T(c)-T(0))](3/2), where T(c) is the critical temperature and σ(0) is the interfacial stress at a reference temperature T(0), which is the main reason for the prolonged SD stage and the lower growth exponent in the thermal case. Besides thermodynamics, we probe how the local viscosities influence the morphology of the phase separating system. We find that, for both the isothermal and thermal cases, the growth exponents and local flow velocities are inversely proportional to the corresponding viscosities. Compared with the isothermal case, the local flow velocity depends not only on viscosity but also on temperature.

PACS 47.11.-j -Computational methods in fluid dynamics. PACS 51.10.+y -Kinetic and transport theory of gases. PACS 05.20.Dd -Kinetic theory.Abstract. -We present a simple and general approach to formulate the lattice BGK model for high speed compressible flows. The main point consists of two parts: an appropriate discrete equilibrium distribution function (DEDF) f eq and a discrete velocity model with flexible velocity size. The DEDF is obtained by f eq = C −1 M, where M is a set of moment of the Maxwellian distribution function, and C is the matrix connecting the DEDF and the moments. The numerical components of C are determined by the discrete velocity model. The calculation of C −1 is based on the analytic solution which is a function of the parameter controlling the sizes of discrete velocity. The choosing of discrete velocity model has a high flexibility. The specific heat ratio of the system can be flexible. The approach works for the one-, two-and three-dimensional model constructions. As an example, we compose a new lattice BGK kinetic model which works not only for recovering the Navier-Stokes equations in the continuum limit but also for measuring the departure of system from its thermodynamic equilibrium. Via adjusting the sizes of the discrete velocities the stably simulated Mach number can be significantly increased up to 30 or even higher. The model is verified and validated by well-known benchmark tests. Some macroscopic behaviors of the system due to deviating from thermodynamic equilibrium around the shock wave interfaces are shown.

In this paper we present an improved lattice Boltzmann model for compressible Navier-Stokes system with high Mach number. The model is composed of three components: (i) the discrete-velocity-model by M. Watari and M. Tsutahara [Phys. Rev. E 67 (2003) 036306], (ii) a modified Lax-Wendroff finite difference scheme where reasonable dissipation and dispersion are naturally included, (iii) artificial viscosity. The improved model is convenient to compromise the high accuracy and stability. The included dispersion term can effectively reduce the numerical oscillation at discontinuity. The added artificial viscosity helps the scheme to satisfy the von Neumann stability condition. Shock tubes and shock reflections are used to validate the new scheme. In our numerical tests the Mach numbers are successfully increased up to 20 or higher. The flexibility of the new model makes it suitable for tracking shock waves with high accuracy and for investigating nonlinear nonequilibrium complex systems.

We present a general framework for constructing trans-scale discrete Boltzmann models (DBMs) for high-speed compressible flows ranging from continuum to transition regime. This is achieved by designing a higher-order discrete equilibrium distribution function that satisfies additional nonhydrodynamic kinetic moments. To characterize the thermodynamic nonequilibrium (TNE) effects and estimate the condition under which the DBMs at various levels should be used, two measures are presented: (i) the relative TNE strength, describing the relative strength of the (N+1)th order TNE effects to the Nth order one; (ii) the TNE discrepancy between DBM simulation and relevant theoretical analysis. Whether or not the higher-order TNE effects should be taken into account in the modeling and which level of DBM should be adopted is best described by the relative TNE intensity and/or the discrepancy rather than by the value of the Knudsen number. As a model example, a two-dimensional DBM with 26 discrete velocities at Burnett level is formulated, verified, and validated.