Parallel Lattice Boltzmann Method Models of Dilute Gravity Currents: Virtual Fluids Docker image

Here we present two lattice Boltzmann method models of lockexchange dilute gravity currents, in which the largest turbulent length scales are directly resolved. The simulations are accelerated by exporting computations to a graphics processing unit and are validated against experiments and high-resolution simulations for Reynolds numbers up to 30,000. The lattice Boltzmann method models achieve equivalent accuracy to conventional large eddy simulation models in the prediction of key flow properties. A conservative analysis of computational performance relative to conventional methods, indicatesthat the presented framework reducessimulation times by two orders of magnitude. Therefore, it can be used as a foundation for the development of depth-resolving models that capture more of the complexity of environmental gravity currents.The LBM models are implemented into the GPU version of the software VirtualFluids.