NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF FLOW OVER A CIRCULAR CYLINDER USING LATTICE BOLTZMANN METHOD

This work is concerned with Lattice Boltzmann computation of two-dimensional incompre- ssible flow past a circular cylinder confined in a channel. Computations are carried out both for steady and unsteady flows and the critical Reynolds number at which symmetry breaks and unsteadiness sets in is predicted. Effects of Reynolds number is studied in some details. The wake patterns and force distributions on the cylinder and mechanism of flow dynamics are investigated. All the results compare quite well with those computed with continuum -based methods, demonstrating the ability and usefulness of the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) in capturing the flow features of this interesting and fluid- mechanically rich problem.

Keywords:

Two-dimensional , circular cylinder , confined channel , Lattice Boltzmann Method , D2Q9 model