Entropic Lattice Boltzmann Method for Large Scale Turbulence Simulation

Abstract

Recently, a minimal kinetic model for fluid flow, known as entropic lattice Boltzmann method, has been proposed for the simulation of isothermal hydrodynamic flows. At variance with previous Lattice Boltzmann methods, the entropic version permits to describe the non-linear dynamics of short scales in a controlled and stable way. In this paper, we provide the first numerical evidence that the entropic lattice Boltzmann scheme provides a quantitatively correct description of the large-scale structures of two-dimensional turbulence, free of numerical instabilities. This indicates that the entropic lattice Boltzmann method might provide a starting basis for the formulation of a new class of turbulence models based on genuinely kinetic principles.