Anisotropic thermal lattice Boltzmann simulation of 2D natural convection in a square cavity

•Natural convection in a square cavity is simulated by multiple relaxation time (MRT) lattice Boltzmann method with double population.•The Raleigh numbers examined range from Ra=103Ra=103 to Ra=106Ra=106.•The simulations are performed for anisotropic thermal case.•Anisotropic thermal case is compared to isotropic thermal case.

Natural convection in a square cavity is simulated by multiple relaxation time (MRT) lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) with a separate distribution function to solve for the temperature distribution. The Rayleigh numbers examined range from Ra=103Ra=103 to Ra=106.Ra=106. The simulations are performed for anisotropic thermal case and compared to isotropic thermal case.