Coupling fully resolved light particles with the Lattice Boltzmann method on adaptively refined grids

Abstract

The simulation of geometrically resolved rigid particles in a fluid relies on coupling algorithms to transfer momentum both ways between the particles and the fluid. In this article, the fluid flow is modeled with a parallel Lattice Boltzmann method using adaptive grid refinement to improve numerical efficiency. The coupling with the particles is realized with the momentum exchange method. When implemented in plain form, instabilities may arise in the coupling when the particles are lighter than the fluid. The algorithm can be stabilized with a virtual mass correction specifically developed for the Lattice Boltzmann method. The method is analyzed for a wide set of physically relevant regimes, varying independently the body-to-fluid density ratio and the relative magnitude of inertial and viscous effects. These studies of a single rising particle exhibit periodic regimes of particle motion as well as chaotic behavior, as previously reported in the literature. The new method is carefully compared with available experimental and numerical results. This serves to validate the presented new coupled Lattice Boltzmann method and additionally it leads to new physical insight for some of the parameter settings.