Numerical analysis of the axisymmetric lattice Boltzmann method for steady and oscillatory flows in periodic geometries

Abstract

Compared to more typical computational fluid dynamics techniques, the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is relatively new and unexplored. In recent years, axisymmetric LBM formulations, which can simulate flow in rotationally symmetric 3D geometries, have been published. Here we verify a novel axisymmetric LBM implementation using numerical criteria. Hagen–Poiseuille and Womersley flow are considered within a straight tube where analytic solutions are available. With this, we establish sufficient accuracy of the approximated flow and study the effects of changing simulation parameters (e.g. Reynolds number, Womersley number) and spatial/temporal parameters (e.g. relaxation time, mesh nodes, time steps). Furthermore, steady and oscillatory flows within a periodically-varying, longitudinally asymmetric geometry are considered. Analytic solutions are not available in these cases; however, the validity of the axisymmetric LBM for curved boundaries is ensured through convergence, mesh independence and qualitative observations. Guaranteeing reasonable flow field determination for the aformentioned geometry is relevant to a larger problem where particulate suspension is pumped back and forth through a membrane of axisymmetric micropores. In these circumstances, experiments have induced directed particle transport even though there is no net flow of the carrier fluid. Hence, our work aims to improve current numerical simulations of these flow problems to better understand the factors that facilitate particle transport.

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