Total Energy Thermal Lattice Boltzmann Simulation of Mixed Convection in a Square Cavity

In this paper, a numerical investigation about mixed convection heat transfer mechanisms in a two-dimensional square cavity is conducted. A double population lattice Boltzmann approach was used to simulate flow inside a square cavity for natural and mixed convection for a range of flow conditions. Such flows are commonly simulated in literature with an additional distribution function which represents temperature as a passive scalar. Nonetheless, in our work this function represents the total energy field. This paper aims at investigating the ability of this set of tools to correctly predict and capture buoyancy and shear stress effects in the studied fluid flow problem. Streamlines, isotherm lines, shear stresses and average Nusselt numbers are investigated for different mixed convection parameters (Richardson number). A good agreement is observed between our results and other works from literature, including those based on traditional methods such as finite differences and finite volumes. Comparisons suggest that the adopted approach in this study shows good accuracy and efficiency for simulations of lid-driven cavities. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature India Private Limited.