Linear and brute force stability of orthogonal moment multiple-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann methods applied to homogeneous isotropic turbulence.

Multiple-relaxation-time (MRT) lattice Boltzmann methods (LBM) based on orthogonal moments exhibit lattice Mach number dependent instabilities in diffusive scaling. The present work renders an explicit formulation of stability sets for orthogonal moment MRT LBM. The stability sets are defined via the spectral radius of linearized amplification matrices of the MRT collision operator with variable relaxation frequencies. Numerical investigations are carried out for the three-dimensional Taylor-Green vortex benchmark at Reynolds number 1600. Extensive brute force computations of specific relaxation frequency ranges for the full test case are opposed to the von Neumann stability set prediction. Based on that, we prove numerically that a scan over the full wave space, including scaled mean flow variations, is required to draw conclusions on the overall stability of LBM in turbulent flow simulations. Furthermore, the von Neumann results show that a grid dependence is hardly possible to include in the notion of linear stability for LBM. Lastly, via brute force stability investigations based on empirical data from a total number of 22 696 simulations, the existence of a deterministic influence of the grid resolution is deduced. This article is part of the theme issue 'Progress in mesoscale methods for fluid dynamics simulation'.

On relaxation systems and their relation to discrete velocity Boltzmann models for scalar advection-diffusion equations.

The connection of relaxation systems and discrete velocity models is essential to the progress of stability as well as convergence results for lattice Boltzmann methods. In the present study we propose a formal perturbation ansatz starting from a scalar one-dimensional target equation, which yields a relaxation system specifically constructed for its equivalence to a discrete velocity Boltzmann model as commonly found in lattice Boltzmann methods. Further, the investigation of stability structures for the discrete velocity Boltzmann equation allows for algebraic characterizations of the equilibrium and collision operator. The methods introduced and summarized here are tailored for scalar, linear advection-diffusion equations, which can be used as a foundation for the constructive design of discrete velocity Boltzmann models and lattice Boltzmann methods to approximate different types of partial differential equations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Fluid dynamics, soft matter and complex systems: recent results and new methods'.