Lattice Boltzmann Simulation of Fluid Flow Between Two Rotating Cylinders and Application in Biomedicine

Abstract

In many processes in industrial, technical, biological and biomedical systems it is necessary to analyze the flow between coaxial cylinders. This phenomenon was analyzed in literature – analytically, experimentally and numerically. In this paper, numerical simulations of fluid flow between two concentric rotating cylinders are performed using a special formulation of the LB (lattice Boltzmann) method for moving walls, called the mass-conserved volumetric lattice Boltzmann (abbreviated MCVLB) method. Overall three different kinematic cases were considered - the inner and outer cylinder rotated with equal angular velocities, the inner cylinder was at rest and the cylinders rotated with equal and opposite angular velocities. The results of simulations are compared with other numerical results and analytical solutions to verify the accuracy of the proposed model. Finally, a simulation of fluid flow through the semicircular canals of the inner ear is performed to demonstrate the possibilities of application of the proposed method in biomedical engineering.