Extension of the Lattice-Boltzmann method for direct simulation of suspended particles near contact

Computational methods based on the solution of the lattice-Boltzmann equation have been demonstrated to be effective for modeling a variety of fluid flow systems including direct simulation of particles suspended in fluid. Applications to suspended particles, however, have been limited to cases where the gap width between solid particles is much larger than the size of the lattice unit. The present extension of the method removes this limitation and improves the accuracy of the results even when two solid surfaces are near contact. With this extension, the forces on two moving solid particles, suspended in a fluid and almost in contact with each other, are calculated. Results are compared with classical lubrication theory. The accuracy and robustness of this computational method are demonstrated with several test problems.