Simulation of nonideal gases and liquid-gas phase transitions by the lattice Boltzmann equation.

We describe in detail a recently proposed lattice-Boltzmann model for simulating flows with multiple phases and components. In particular, the focus is on the modeling of one-component fluid systems which obey non-ideal gas equations of state and can undergo a liquid-gas type phase transition. The model is shown to be momentum-conserving. From the microscopic mechanical stability condition, the densities in bulk liquid and gas phases are obtained as functions of a temperature-like parameter. Comparisons with the thermodynamic theory of phase transition show that the LBE model can be made to correspond exactly to an isothermal process. The density profile in the liquid-gas interface is also obtained as function of the temperature-like parameter and is shown to be isotropic. The surface tension, which can be changed independently, is calculated. The analytical conclusions are verified Also at Department of Physics, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755-3528 yPresent address: Exa Corporation, 125 Cambridge Park Street, Cambridge, MA 02140