An Adaptive Volumetric Flux Boundary Condition for Lattice Boltzmann Methods

Abstract

This paper presents a spatially and temporally adaptive boundary condition to specify the volumetric flux for lattice Boltzmann methods. The approach differs from standard velocity boundary conditions because it allows the velocity to vary over the boundary region provided that the total flux through the boundary satisfies a prescribed constraint, which is a typical scenario for laboratory experimental studies. This condition allows the boundary pressure to adjust dynamically to yield a specified boundary flow rate as a means to avoid unphysical mismatch between the boundary velocity and the interior flow field that can arise when a constant velocity boundary condition is applied. The method is validated for simulation of one-and two-fluid flow in complex materials, with conditions determined to match typical experiments used to study flow in porous media.

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“…First is the basic pressure boundary condition, which can be used to assign constant pressure values to the inlet and outlet [89,90]. Alternatively, a flux or velocity boundary condition can be applied to assign the flow rate [91]. The flux boundary condition is distinct from conventional velocity boundary conditions because it sets a constant total volumetric flow rate across the entire inlet instead of enforcing a constant velocity at each point at the inlet.…”