Free Surface Lattice Boltzmann with Enhanced Bubble Model

Abstract: This paper presents an enhancement to the free surface lattice Boltzmann method (FSLBM) for the simulation of bubbly flows including rupture and breakup of bubbles. The FSLBM uses a volume of fluid approach to reduce the problem of a liquid-gas two-phase flow to a single-phase free surface simulation. In bubbly flows compression effects leading to an increase or decrease of pressure in the suspended bubbles cannot be neglected. Therefore, the free surface simulation is augmented by a bubble model that supplies the missing information by tracking the topological changes of the free surface in the flow. The new model presented here is capable of handling the effects of bubble breakup and coalesce without causing a significant computational overhead. Thus, the enhanced bubble model extends the applicability of the FSLBM to a new range of practically relevant problems, like bubble formation and development in chemical reactors or foaming processes.