Lattice Boltzmann Simulation of Flow and Heat Transfer Characteristics in a Symmetric Bifurcation

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) originates from the discrete kinetic theory and has been applied for simulation of various kinds of fluid flows under different conditions. In this paper, a passive-scalar-based thermal lattice Boltzmann model is employed to simulate the steady flow in a symmetric bifurcation channel under constant wall heat flux boundary conditions. The bifurcation effects on the heat transfer and fluid flow are thoroughly investigated under different Reynolds numbers, wall heat fluxes and bifurcation angles. The results are compared with the commercial software output. A useful discussion about how to transfer from lattice units to actual physical units is also presented.