Numerical investigation of flow past a cylinder using cumulant lattice Boltzmann method

Abstract

This paper presents simulations of flow past a circular cylinder within the subcritical Reynolds number (Re) range from 3900 to 2 × 105, utilizing the parameterized cumulant lattice Boltzmann model. In this study, a three-dimensional characteristic boundary condition for incompressible flow has been integrated into the lattice Boltzmann method at the outflow boundary to minimize spurious reflection. The flow field, wake statistics, hydrodynamic force, and power spectra results of Re = 3900 from the cumulant lattice Boltzmann model are exhaustively compared with the laboratory data and other numerical models. Relative to other numerical models employing turbulence closure, the cumulant lattice Boltzmann simulations demonstrate enhanced agreement with the experimental data even with relatively coarser grid resolution. The resolution-spanning feature for the cumulant lattice Boltzmann model in turbulent flows, without using explicit turbulence model, aligns with the previous benchmark case studies. The stability-preserving regularization process in the present model is analyzed. Results indicate that the influence of the regularization parameter is mitigated with improved grid resolution. A specific regularization parameter for flow around cylinder simulations is recommended. Variations in flow properties and hydrodynamic forces within the subcritical Reynolds number range of 3900 to 2 × 105 are analyzed. The results confirm that the parameterized cumulant lattice Boltzmann model can accurately simulate practical engineering flows, characterized by complex separation and recirculation, within the subcritical range. Moreover, the computational efficiency and parallel scalability are compared with other numerical methods.