Hybrid recursive regularized lattice Boltzmann simulation of humid air with application to meteorological flows.

Abstract

An extended version of the hybrid recursive regularized lattice-Boltzmann model which incorporates external force is developed to simulate humid air flows with phase change mechanisms under the Boussinesq approximation. Mass and momentum conservation equations are solved by a regularized lattice Boltzmann approach well suited for high Reynolds number flows, whereas the energy and humidity related equations are solved by a finite volume approach. Two options are investigated to account for cloud formation in atmospheric flow simulations. The first option considers a single conservation equation for total water and an appropriate invariant variable of temperature. In the other approach, liquid and vapor are considered via two separated equations, and phase transition is accounted for via a relaxation procedure. The obtained models are then systematically validated on four well-established benchmark problems including a double diffusive Rayleigh Bénard convection of humid air, two- and three-dimensional thermal moist rising bubble under convective atmospheric environment, as well as a shallow cumulus convection in the framework of large-eddy simulation.