Frequency-domain deviational Monte Carlo method for linear oscillatory gas flows

Abstract

Oscillatory non-continuum low Mach number gas flows are often generated by nanomechanical devices in ambient conditions. These flows can be simulated using a range of particle based Monte Carlo techniques, which in their original form operate exclusively in the time-domain. Recently, a frequency-domain weight-based Monte Carlo method was proposed [D. R. Ladiges and J. E. Sader, “Frequency-domain Monte Carlo method for linear oscillatory gas flows,” J. Comput. Phys. 284, 351–366 (2015)] that exhibits superior statistical convergence when simulating oscillatory flows. This previous method used the Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) kinetic model and contains a “virtual-time” variable to maintain the inherent time-marching nature of existing Monte Carlo algorithms. Here, we propose an alternative frequency-domain deviational Monte Carlo method that facilitates the use of a wider range of molecular models and more efficient collision/relaxation operators. We demonstrate this method with oscillatory Couette flow and the flow generated by an oscillating sphere, utilizing both the BGK kinetic model and hard sphere particles. We also discuss how oscillatory motion of arbitrary time-dependence can be simulated using computationally efficient parallelization. As in the weight-based method, this deviational frequency-domain Monte Carlo method is shown to offer improved computational speed compared to the equivalent time-domain technique.