Lattice-Boltzmann modeling of buoyancy-driven turbulent flows

The pressure-based hybrid lattice-Boltzmann method presented by Farag et al. [“A pressure-based regularized lattice-Boltzmann method for the simulation of compressible flows,” Phys. Fluids 32, 066106 (2020)] is assessed for the simulation of buoyancy driven flows. The model is first validated on Rayleigh–Benard and Rayleigh–Taylor two-dimensional cases. A large-eddy simulation of a turbulent forced plume is then carried out, and results are validated against experiments. Good overall agreement is obtained, both for mean and fluctuation quantities, as well as global entrainment. The self-similarity characteristic of the plume in the far-field is also recovered.