Process / pipelineFluid Dynamics
Lattice Boltzmann Method
The Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is a kinetic theory-based computational approach to fluid dynamics that discretizes the Boltzmann equation on a lattice grid. Developed by McNamara and Zanetti in 1988, LBM computes fluid behavior by tracking the distribution of particle velocities at discrete lattice nodes rather than solving the Navier-Stokes equations directly. This method naturally incorporates complex physics (turbulence, multiphase flows, porous media) and is highly parallelizable, making it increasingly popular for modern computational platforms.
Open in MethodMindSoonVideoSoon
Read the full method
Members only
Sign inSign in with a free account to read this section.
Sources
- McNamara, G. R., & Zanetti, G. (1988). Use of the Boltzmann equation to simulate lattice-gas automata. Physical Review Letters, 61(20), 2332-2335. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.61.2332 ↗
- Qian, Y. H., d'Humières, D., & Lallemand, P. (1992). Lattice BGK models for the Navier-Stokes equation. Europhysics Letters, 17(6), 479-484. DOI: 10.1209/0295-5075/17/6/001 ↗
- Chen, S., & Doolen, G. D. (1998). Lattice Boltzmann method for fluid simulations. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, 30, 329-364. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.fluid.30.1.329 ↗