Spurious currents suppression by accurate difference schemes in multiphase lattice Boltzmann method

Spurious currents are often observed near curved interfaces in multiphase simulations based on diffuse interface methods. These unphysical phenomena negatively affect both computational accuracy and stability. In this paper, the origin and suppression of spurious currents are investigated using the multiphase lattice Boltzmann method driven by a chemical potential. Both the difference error and insufficient isotropy of the discrete gradient operator give rise to directional deviations in the nonideal force, leading to spurious currents. Nevertheless, a high-order finite difference scheme produces far more accurate results than a high-order isotropic difference scheme. We compare several finite difference schemes that have different levels of accuracy and resolution. When a large proportional coefficient is used, the transition region is narrow and steep, and the resolution of the finite difference scheme provides a better indication of the computational accuracy than the formal accuracy. Conversely, for a small proportional coefficient, the transition region is wide and gentle, and the formal accuracy of the finite difference gives a better indication of the computational accuracy than the resolution. Numerical simulations show that the spurious currents calculated in the three-dimensional situation are highly consistent with those in two-dimensional simulations; in particular, the two-phase coexistence densities calculated by the high-order accuracy finite difference scheme are in excellent agreement with the theoretical predictions of the Maxwell equal-area construction down to a reduced temperature of 0.2.