SIM-AM 2025

High-Order Thread-Safe Lattice Boltzmann Modeling of Droplet and Bubble Dynamics with High Density and Viscosity Contrasts

  • Lauricella, Marco (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche)

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Understanding multiphase flow dynamics involving droplets and bubbles with significant density and viscosity contrasts is crucial for optimizing additive manufacturing processes involving intelligent materials. We present a novel high-order, thread-safe implementation [1] of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) integrated with a conservative Allen-Cahn equation for interface capturing [2]. Our model specifically addresses the computational challenges posed by high-density and viscosity contrasts, crucial for accurately simulating realistic fluid behaviors found in advanced manufacturing and microfluidic applications. Through systematic numerical simulations, the model successfully reproduces complex scenarios such as bubble rising dynamics and droplet collisions, demonstrating robust agreement with experimental and literature benchmarks. Notably, the method efficiently resolves intricate interface dynamics at density and viscosity ratios as high as 1000 and 100, respectively. Additionally, the model's suitability for high-performance computing on GPU-based architectures highlights its potential for large-scale simulation applications in additive manufacturing. This contribution addresses the existing gap in accurate, computationally efficient models capable of capturing complex interfacial dynamics at extreme density and viscosity contrasts, providing a powerful tool for the simulation-driven design of intelligent materials in additive manufacturing processes. [1] Lauricella, M., Montessori, A., Tiribocchi, A., and Succi, S. Thread-safe lattice Boltzmann for high-performance computing on GPU architectures. Journal of Computational Science. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocs.2023.102034. [2] Lauricella, M., Tiribocchi, A., Succi, S., Brandt, L., Mukherjee, A., La Rocca, M., and Montessori, A. Thread-safe multiphase lattice Boltzmann model for droplet and bubble dynamics at high density and viscosity contrasts. arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.00846. (2025). https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.00846.