Simulation of Cavity Flow by the Lattice Boltzmann Method

A detailed analysis is presented to demonstrate the capabilities of the lattice Boltzmann method. Thorough comparisons with other numerical solutions for the two-dimensional, driven cavity flow show that the lattice Boltzmann method gives accurate results over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. Studies of errors and convergence rates are carried out. Compressibility effects are quantified for different maximum velocities, and parameter ranges are found for stable simulations. The paper's objective is to stimulate further work using this relatively new approach for applied engineering problems in transport phenomena utilizing parallel computers.