A viscosity adaption method for Lattice Boltzmann simulations

In this work, we consider the limited fitness for practical use of the Lattice Boltzmann Method for non-Newtonian fluid flows. Several authors have shown that the LBM is capable of correctly simulating those fluids. However, due to stability reasons the modeled viscosity range has to be truncated. The resulting viscosity boundaries are chosen arbitrarily, because the correct simulation Mach number for the physical problem is unknown a priori. This easily leads to corrupt simulation results. A viscosity adaption method (VAM) is derived which drastically improves the applicability of LBM for non-Newtonian fluid flows by adaption of the modeled viscosity range to the actual physical problem. This is done through tuning of the global Mach number to the solution-dependent shear rate. We demonstrate that the VAM can be used to accelerate LBM simulations and improve their accuracy, for both steady state and transient cases. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.