Hybrid lattice Boltzmann method using Cartesian and body-fitted grids for turbomachinery aeroacoustic simulations

Abstract

In this study, we developed a hybrid approach using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and finite-volume lattice Boltzmann method (FVLBM) to perform efficient aeroacoustic simulations with moving boundaries. An entire domain, including the flow and acoustic fields, was computed using the standard LBM with a Cartesian grid. Local domains around the moving objects were computed using the FVLBM with body-fitted grids. These simulations were coupled using the direct forcing method to consider moving boundaries. The hybrid method was validated for several problems including turbulent flows and flow-induced sounds under low-Mach-number conditions. These validation problems covered flows with Reynolds numbers up to 2.0×105 and Mach numbers less than 0.2. In the simulations of the aeolian tone generated from stationary and rotating cylinders, the hybrid method results were consistent with those of the conventional methods. In the simulation of the turbulent flow and broadband sound of the isolated airfoil, the hybrid method was 15 times faster than the standard LBM and produced results consistent with the experimental results. Furthermore, the application of a cross-flow fan demonstrated that the hybrid method successfully simulated the flow and acoustic fields around the rotor.