Application of the lattice-Boltzmann method to study flow and dispersion in channels with and without expansion and contraction geometry

The lattice-Boltzmann (LB) method, derived from lattice gas automata, is a relatively new technique for studying transport problems. The LB method is investigated for its accuracy to study fluid dynamics and dispersion proble ms. Two problems of relevance to flow and dispersion in porous media are ad dressed: (1) Poiseuille flow between parallel plates (which is analogous to flow in pore throats in two-dimensional porous networks), and (ii) flow th rough an expansion-contraction geometry (which is analogous to flow in pore bodies in two-dimensional porous networks). The results obtained from the LB simulations are compared with analytical solutions when available, and w ith solutions obtained from a finite element code (FIDAP) when analytical r esults are not available. Excellent agreement is found between the LB resul ts and the analytical/FIDAP solutions in most cases, indicating the utility of the lattice-Boltzmann method for solving fluid dynamics and dispersion problems. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.