Numerical Investigation on Physical Foaming and Decay Process Using Multicomponent Thermal Lattice Boltzmann Model

School of Mechanical Engineering, Tongji University, 4800 Caoan Highway, Shanghai, China

^a Corresponding author: 1410288@tongji.edu.cn

Abstract

Foam materials produced by physical process are common in the field of material engineering such as foamed asphalt. Considering heat and phase transfer, the complicated nonlinear phenomenon of foaming and decay process is difficult to be described numerically. In this paper, a multicomponent thermal lattice Boltzmann model for simulation of physical foaming and decay process is proposed. The model combines a thermal single-component phase change model with a multicomponent model, and the two models are verified separately. The physical foaming and decay process is solved numerically based on the proposed model. Simulation results show the influence of the distribution and content of the phase-change component on the expansion rate and decay time during physical foaming and decay process.