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Title: Numerical simulation of transient flow with column separation using the lattice Boltzmann method

Authors: Kai Wu; Yujie Feng; Ying Xu

Addresses: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73, Huanghe Road, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China ' State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 73, Huanghe Road, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China ' School of Energy and Architecture Engineering, Harbin University of Commerce, No. 1 Xuehai Street, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China

Abstract: This study proposes a numerical solution to simulate the transient flow with column separation in pipelines using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). By combining the LBM and the discrete vapour cavity model (DVCM), the governing equations and boundary conditions were analysed and derived for numerical simulation. Experiments and actual projects were adopted to verify and examine the new solution. The results indicate that the computational grid of the LBM-DVCM is unrelated to the wave speed, which significantly reduces computational resources and time. Moreover, compared to the method of characteristics (MOC)-DVCM, the LBM-DVCM eliminates virtual pressure peaks during the transient flow. Finally, the LBM-DVCM can simulate the process of transient flow quickly and accurately. It is expected that this method will be useful for practical numerical experimentation and efficient prediction of the pipeline.

Keywords: discrete vapour cavity model; lattice Boltzmann method; LBM; water hammer with column separation; water supply systems; method of characteristics; MOC.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2022.125749

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2022 Vol.22 No.5, pp.331 - 341

Received: 27 May 2021
Accepted: 07 Jan 2022
Published online: 27 Sep 2022 *