Removal of Shape Deformation in the Free Energy Based Lattice Boltzmann Method for Large Density Ratio

The free energy based lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for two-phase flow with large density ratio is used to simulate droplet dynamics in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). The shape deformation of a static water droplet in the gas channel occurred in the simulations was eliminated. In this LBM model, two types of staggered grids which respectively make use of the velocity components from the orthogonal and diagonal directions are blended to calculate the hydrodynamic pressure from the Poisson equation, with the successive over-relaxation method (SOR). It is found that the simulated water droplet shape is determined by both the blending factor of the two types of staggered grids and the radius length. The appropriate blending factor for each radius length is summarized to optimize the simulation. The dependence of shape deformation on the blending factor and the radius length is further validated while considering the wettability effect of the solid wall of the gas channel. It is proved that the summarized appropriate blending factors are still practical when the concept of equivalent radius length is adopted.