Welcome to the Lattice Boltzmann Research Group
The Lattice Boltzmann Research Group (LBRG) is an interdisciplinary research group that aims to take advantage of novel mathematical modeling strategies and numerical methods to enable large-scale simulations and optimal control of fluid flows for applications in process engineering. The LBRG aims at a better fundamental understanding of suspensions in general and for the improvement of mechanical processes and medical treatments. In particular the LBRG designs and uses models, algorithms, and open source simulation tools such as OpenLB, always taking advantage of modern high performance computers for the simulation of, for example:
- Particulate fluid flows
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Thermal flows
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Turbulent flows
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Material transport and chemical reactive flows
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Light transport
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Fluid-structure interaction
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Flows in porous media and complex geometries
The LBRG’s teaching and education concept is project- and research-oriented, offering for example basic programming courses, lectures on parallel computing, software tutorials, and advanced seminars on particular fluid flow simulations as well as optimal control theory.
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Latest News
Registration is now open for the 10th Spring School 2027 on Lattice Boltzmann Methods with OpenLB Software Lab that will be held in Erlangen/Germany between 05.04.2027 - 09.04.2027.
Early Bird registration ends by the 14th of March 2027.
Our spring school brings together researchers and industry professionals to explore the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM), from fundamental theory to real-world applications.
Beginning of the week: Learn the theoretical foundations of LBM, including insights into current research and advanced topics.
End of the week: Hands-on mentored case studies using OpenLB, offering deep practical experience with state-of-the-art LBM simulations
For experienced participants, the advanced option of the Spring School provides the opportunity to work on your own application challenges or develop custom LBM implementations, supported by expert tutors. Thursday and Friday are hereby dedicated to independent work, encouraged by continuous feedback and in-depth discussions.
What makes this Spring School special?
- A unique, highly interactive learning concept within the LBM community
- Hands-on, mentored case studies using OpenLB
- Valuable networking during poster sessions, coffee breaks and the excursion
We look forward to welcoming you to an inspiring week of learning, collaboration and exchange!
Registration: https://www.openlb.net/spring-school-registration/
More information: https://www.openlb.net/spring-school-2027/
The Lattice Boltzmann Research Group (LBRG) at Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) is excited to share our latest paper: “An Integrated Open-Source Software System for the Generation and Analysis of Subject-Specific Blood Flow Simulation Ensembles.”
This work is the result of a collaboration by Simon Leistikow*, Thomas Miro*, Adrian Kummerländer, Ali Nahardani, Katja Grün, Marcus Franz, Verena Hoerr, Mathias J. Krause, and Lars Linsen (*joint first authors).
Modeling patient-specific blood flow is notoriously complex, often relying on fragmented and inefficient workflows. To truly understand how blood flow shifts under different physiological conditions, researchers need to generate entire "simulation ensembles"—yet most existing tools are only built to handle one simulation at a time.
We introduced an integrated software system that bridges Voreen and OpenLB. By merging medical image processing, high-performance fluid simulation, and interactive visual analysis into a single interface, this new setup brings together the best of both CFD and MRI.
Key Highlights from the Paper:
- Seamless Integration: OpenLB embeds smoothly into Voreen's interactive volume-rendering framework, enabling true in-situ visualization.
- A Smoother Workflow: Moving to a single graphical user interface (GUI) drastically cuts down the manual workload and eliminates the tedious, error-prone process of file conversions.
- Accessible to Non-Experts: You no longer need an advanced background in computing to configure, run, and evaluate complex Lattice Boltzmann simulations.
- Deeper Clinical Insights: Combining MRI data directly with CFD gives us a much clearer, comprehensive view of critical hemodynamic biomarkers, such as wall shear stress and aneurysm parameters.
The article is published Open Access and available here.
An overview of the different Voreen-OpenLB use cases can be found on youtube:
- Use Case A
- Use Case B
- Use Case C
Last week, the Lattice Boltzmann Research Group (LBRG) at Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) met with project partners Willi Mayer Holzbau GmbH, UBP-Consulting GmbH, and CeMOS - Research and Transfer Center of Technische Hochschule Mannheim at Willi Mayer Holzbau in Bisingen. The meeting marked the kick-off for the InvestBW-funded project INFRA (Innovative nachhaltige Wärmeeffizienz-Analyse im realen Altbau / Innovative sustainable thermal efficiency analysis in real-world existing buildings).
Heating and cooling buildings accounted for 25.6% of Germany’s energy consumption in 2023. While improving the insulation of existing buildings offers significant energy savings, current energy analyses are technically complex, largely manual, and limited by a shortage of qualified personnel.
The INFRA project aims to standardize and digitalize the energy analysis and retrofit planning process for existing buildings. The project focuses on two main objectives:
Analysis Tool: Automates the creation of digital twins using drone-based geometry capture, exterior thermography, and indoor temperature data. It combines simulations and optimization methods to inversely calculate the thermophysical properties of the building envelope, and subsequently applies AI techniques to identify materials based on a comprehensive database.
Planning Tool: A system that utilizes the digital twin data to automatically generate fully digital plans for energy-efficiency improvements.
By automating these processes, the project aims to significantly reduce the documentation and calculation workload for energy consultants and make building retrofits more scalable.