Numerical Simulation of Flows about a Stationary and a Free-Falling Cylinder Using Immersed Boundary-Finite Difference Lattice Boltzmann Method

• Published in: The journal of computational multiphase flows (Online) 2013-03, Vol.5 (1), p.27-41
• Main Authors: Rojas, Roberto, Hayashi, Kosuke, Seta, Takeshi, Tomiyama, Akio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1757-482X; 1757-4838
• DOI: 10.1260/1757-482X.5.1.27

The applicability of the immersed boundary-finite difference lattice Boltzmann method (IB-FDLBM) to high Reynolds number flows about a circular cylinder is examined. Two-dimensional simulations of flows past a stationary circular cylinder are carried out for a wide range of the Reynolds number, Re, i.e., 1 ≤ Re ≤ 1×105. An immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method (IB-LBM) is also used for comparison. Then free-falling circular cylinders are simulated to demonstrate the feasibility of predicting moving particles at high Reynolds numbers. The main conclusions obtained are as follows: (1) steady and unsteady flows about a stationary cylinder are well predicted with IB-LBM and IB-FDLBM, provided that the spatial resolution is high enough to satisfy the conditions of numerical stability, (2) high spatial resolution is required for stable IB-LBM simulation of high Reynolds number flows, (3) IB-FDLBM can stably simulate flows at very high Reynolds numbers without increasing the spatial resolution, (4) IB-FDLBM gives reasonable predictions of the drag coefficient for 1 ≤ Re ≤ 1×105, and (5) IB-FDLBM gives accurate predictions for the motion of free-falling cylinders at intermediate Reynolds numbers.