Short-time motion of colloidal particles: Numerical simulation via a fluctuating lattice-Boltzmann equation

Abstract

A new and general technique for simulating solid-fluid suspensions, which combines molecular dynamics for the solid particles with a lattice-Boltzmann model for the fluid, is described. The many-body hydrodynamic interactions are fully accounted for, both for small particle velocities and at higher Reynolds numbers. Brownian motion of the solid particles is included by adding a fluctuating component to the fluid stress tensor. Simulations of the dynamics of colloidal particles at short times compare favorably with recent diffusing-wave spectroscopy experiments.