A lattice based solution of the collisional Boltzmann equation with applications to microchannel flows

An alternative approach for solution of the collisional Boltzmann equation for a lattice architecture is presented. In the proposed method, termed the collisional lattice Boltzmann method (cLBM), the effects of spatial transport are accounted for via a streaming operator, using a lattice framework, and the effects of detailed collisional interactions are accounted for using the full collision operator of the Boltzmann equation. The latter feature is in contrast to the conventional lattice Boltzmann methods (LBMs) where collisional interactions are modeled via simple equilibrium based relaxation models (e.g. BGK). The underlying distribution function is represented using weights and fixed velocity abscissas according to the lattice structure. These weights are evolved based on constraints on the evolution of generalized moments of velocity according to the collisional Boltzmann equation. It can be shown that the collision integral can be reduced to a summation of elementary integrals, which can be analytically evaluated. The proposed method is validated using studies of canonical microchannel Couette and Poiseuille flows (both body force and pressure driven) and the results are found to be in good agreement with those obtained from conventional LBMs and experiments where available. Unlike conventional LBMs, the proposed method does not involve any equilibrium based approximations and hence can be useful for simulation of highly nonequilibrium flows (for a range of Knudsen numbers) using a lattice framework. (paper)