Double distribution function lattice Boltzmann modeling for energy transport in the DC argon arc plasma

A double distribution function lattice Boltzmann (DDF-LB) model was developed to simulate the thermal and fluid dynamical behavior of direct current argon plasma. The plasma consists of three components (electrons, ions and atoms), and considered to be in non-local thermodynamic equilibrium during simulation. Multi-component lattice Boltzmann equations were constructed for the flow and energy fields. Temperature-dependent rescaling coefficients (TDRCs) were used to enhance the numerical stability of the model. Numerical performance of the DDF-LB model was then validated by comparing the present results with values calculated by another method and experimental data.