The pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann (LB) model is a widely used multiphase model in the LB community. In this model, an interaction force, which is usually implemented via a forcing scheme, is employed to mimic the molecular interactions that cause phase segregation. The forcing scheme is therefore expected to play an important role in the pseudoepotential LB model. In this paper, we aim to address some key issues about forcing schemes in the pseudopotential LB model. First, theoretical and numerical analyses will be made for Shan-Chen's forcing scheme [Shan and Chen, Phys. Rev. E 47, 1815 (1993)] and the exact-difference-method forcing scheme [Kupershtokh et al., Comput. Math. Appl. 58, 965 (2009)]. The nature of these two schemes and their recovered macroscopic equations will be shown. Second, through a theoretical analysis, we will reveal the physics behind the phenomenon that different forcing schemes exhibit different performances in the pseudopotential LB model. Moreover, based on the analysis, we will present an improved forcing scheme and numerically demonstrate that the improved scheme can be treated as an alternative approach to achieving thermodynamic consistency in the pseudopotential LB model.

• Received 18 April 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.86.016709