48 research outputs found
A unified operator splitting approach for multi-scale fluid-particle coupling in the lattice Boltzmann method
A unified framework to derive discrete time-marching schemes for coupling of
immersed solid and elastic objects to the lattice Boltzmann method is
presented. Based on operator splitting for the discrete Boltzmann equation,
second-order time-accurate schemes for the immersed boundary method, viscous
force coupling and external boundary force are derived. Furthermore, a modified
formulation of the external boundary force is introduced that leads to a more
accurate no-slip boundary condition. The derivation also reveals that the
coupling methods can be cast into a unified form, and that the immersed
boundary method can be interpreted as the limit of force coupling for vanishing
particle mass. In practice, the ratio between fluid and particle mass
determines the strength of the force transfer in the coupling. The integration
schemes formally improve the accuracy of first-order algorithms that are
commonly employed when coupling immersed objects to a lattice Boltzmann fluid.
It is anticipated that they will also lead to superior long-time stability in
simulations of complex fluids with multiple scales
Collective waves in dense and confined microfluidic droplet arrays
Excitation mechanisms for collective waves in confined dense one-dimensional
microfluidic droplet arrays are investigated by experiments and computer
simulations. We demonstrate that distinct modes can be excited by creating
specific `defect' patterns in flowing droplet trains. Excited longitudinal
modes exhibit a short-lived cascade of pairs of laterally displacing droplets.
Transversely excited modes obey the dispersion relation of microfluidic phonons
and induce a coupling between longitudinal and transverse modes, whose origin
is the hydrodynamic interaction of the droplets with the confining walls.
Moreover, we investigate the long-time behaviour of the oscillations and
discuss possible mechanisms for the onset of instabilities. Our findings
demonstrate that the collective dynamics of microfluidic droplet ensembles can
be studied particularly well in dense and confined systems. Experimentally, the
ability to control microfluidic droplets may allow to modulate the refractive
index of optofluidic crystals which is a promising approach for the production
of dynamically programmable metamaterials.Comment: 13 pages, 17 figure
Statistical Mechanics of the Fluctuating Lattice Boltzmann Equation
We propose a new formulation of the fluctuating lattice Boltzmann equation
that is consistent with both equilibrium statististical mechanics and
fluctuating hydrodynamics. The formalism is based on a generalized lattice-gas
model, with each velocity direction occupied by many particles. We show that
the most probable state of this model corresponds to the usual equilibrium
distribution of the lattice Boltzmann equation. Thermal fluctuations about this
equilibrium are controlled by the mean number of particles at a lattice site.
Stochastic collision rules are described by a Monte Carlo process satisfying
detailed balance. This allows for a straightforward derivation of discrete
Langevin equations for the fluctuating modes. It is shown that all
non-conserved modes should be thermalized, as first pointed out by Adhikari et
al.; any other choice violates the condition of detailed balance. A
Chapman-Enskog analysis is used to derive the equations of fluctuating
hydrodynamics on large length and time scales; the level of fluctuations is
shown to be thermodynamically consistent with the equation of state of an
isothermal, ideal gas. We believe this formalism will be useful in developing
new algorithms for thermal and multiphase flows.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review E-11 pages Corrected Author(s) field on
submittal for
Mesoscopic Modelling and Simulation of Soft Matter
The deformability of soft condensed matter often requires modelling of
hydrodynamical aspects to gain quantitative understanding. This, however,
requires specialised methods that can resolve the multiscale nature of soft
matter systems. We review a number of the most popular simulation methods that
have emerged, such as Langevin dynamics, dissipative particle dynamics,
multi-particle collision dynamics, sometimes also referred to as stochastic
rotation dynamics, and the lattice-Boltzmann method. We conclude this review
with a short glance at current compute architectures for high-performance
computing and community codes for soft matter simulation.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
LB3D: A Parallel Implementation of the Lattice-Boltzmann Method for Simulation of Interacting Amphiphilic Fluids
We introduce the lattice-Boltzmann code LB3D, version 7.1. Building on a parallel program and supporting tools which have enabled research utilising high performance computing resources for nearly two decades, LB3D version 7 provides a subset of the research code functionality as an open source project. Here, we describe the theoretical basis of the algorithm as well as computational aspects of the implementation. The software package is validated against simulations of meso-phases resulting from self-assembly in ternary fluid mixtures comprising immiscible and amphiphilic components such as water–oil–surfactant systems. The impact of the surfactant species on the dynamics of spinodal decomposition are tested and quantitative measurement of the permeability of a body centred cubic (BCC) model porous medium for a simple binary mixture is described. Single-core performance and scaling behaviour of the code are reported for simulations on current supercomputer architectures
Mesoscopic simulations of the counterion-induced electroosmotic flow - a comparative study
We present mesoscopic simulations of the counterion-induced electroosmotic
flow in different electrostatic coupling regimes. Two simulation methods are
compared, Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) and coupled
Lattice-Boltzmann/Molecular Dynamics (LB/MD). A general mapping scheme to match
DPD to LB/MD is developed. For the weak-coupling regime, analytic expressions
for the flow profiles in the presence of partial-slip as well as no-slip
boundary conditions are derived from the Poisson-Boltzmann and Stokes
equations, which are in good agreement with the numerical results. The
influence of electrofriction and partial slip on the flow profiles is
discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, additional references and minor
changes in the tex
Implicit and explicit solvent models for the simulation of a single polymer chain in solution: Lattice Boltzmann vs Brownian dynamics
We present a comparative study of two computer simulation methods to obtain
static and dynamic properties of dilute polymer solutions. The first approach
is a recently established hybrid algorithm based upon dissipative coupling
between Molecular Dynamics and lattice Boltzmann (LB), while the second is
standard Brownian Dynamics (BD) with fluctuating hydrodynamic interactions.
Applying these methods to the same physical system (a single polymer chain in a
good solvent in thermal equilibrium) allows us to draw a detailed and
quantitative comparison in terms of both accuracy and efficiency. It is found
that the static conformations of the LB model are distorted when the box length
L is too small compared to the chain size. Furthermore, some dynamic properties
of the LB model are subject to an finite size effect, while the BD
model directly reproduces the asymptotic behavior. Apart from
these finite size effects, it is also found that in order to obtain the correct
dynamic properties for the LB simulations, it is crucial to properly thermalize
all the kinetic modes. Only in this case, the results are in excellent
agreement with each other, as expected. Moreover, Brownian Dynamics is found to
be much more efficient than lattice Boltzmann as long as the degree of
polymerization is not excessively large.Comment: 11 figures, submitted to J. Chem. Phy
Structural and functional integrity of decontaminated N95 respirators: Experimental results
With the recent emergence of highly transmissible variants of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the demand for N95 respirators is expected to remain high. The extensive use of N95 respirators by the public is susceptible to demand-supply gaps and raises concern about their disposal, threatening the environment with a new kind of plastic pollution. Herein, we investigated the filtration performance of the N95 respirator by specifically analyzing the structure in the key filtration layers of meltblown nonwoven after decontamination with one and five cycles of liquid hydrogen peroxide, ultraviolet radiation, moist heat, and aqueous soap solution treatments. With the aid of X-ray microcomputed tomography (microCT) analysis, the local structural heterogeneity of the meltblown nonwoven has been unfolded and subsequently correlated with their filtration performance at a face velocity that matched with speaking conditions (similar to 3.89 m/s). The filtration efficiency results of the N95 respirator remain unaltered after performing one cycle of treatment modalities (except autoclave)
Progress in the Understanding of the Fluctuating Lattice Boltzmann Equation
We give a brief account of the development of methods to include thermal
fluctuations into lattice Boltzmann algorithms. Emphasis is put on our recent
work (Phys. Rev. E 76, 036704 (2007)) which provides a clear understanding in
terms of statistical mechanics.Comment: Conference paper for CCP 2008, submitted to Computer Physics
Communication
Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map
We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies.publishedVersio