Entropic lattice Boltzmann method for general anisotropic advection--diffusion

Abstract

Many transport processes exhibit direction-dependent diffusion, described macroscopically by the full-tensor anisotropic advection--diffusion equation (ADE). Numerical discretization is demanding when the principal axes are rotated relative to the mesh, since mixed derivatives and oblique fluxes amplify grid-orientation errors under large tensor contrasts. This paper develops a local entropic lattice Boltzmann discretization for the general anisotropic ADE. The non-equilibrium population is split into a first-order flux sector and a residual ghost sector. The diffusion tensor is imposed through local tensorial relaxation of the flux, while higher-order kinetic content is controlled by an ADE-corrected entropic stabilizer with positivity fallback. Chapman--Enskog analysis shows the scheme recovers the target full-tensor equation with a discrete-time diffusivity relation between the physical tensor and the flux-relaxation matrix. The update is local, matrix-free, and applies to rotated, spatially varying, heterogeneous, and dynamically coupled tensor transport. We validate it on 3D benchmarks--advected Gaussian plumes, decay of rotated Fourier modes, and source-driven transport with varying tensors--covering off-diagonal diffusion, high-P\'eclet advection, anisotropy ratios of O(104)O(10^4) O(104), and local contrasts up to $3\times10^4:1$. It is then applied to orientation-induced Taylor dispersion of Brownian rods, quantifying enhancement from shear-driven rotation. Heat-conduction tests include rotated thermal-conductivity measurements and effective conduction in heterogeneous porous media with anisotropy up to $10^4:1. Finally, anisotropic Rayleigh--B\'enard convection is simulated to examine how plume morphology and heat transfer change over seven decades of anisotropy ratios, demonstrating an accurate, stable local solver for strongly anisotropic advection--diffusion.