A Finite Difference Interpretation of the Lattice Boltzmann Method

Compared to conventional techniques in computational fluid dynamics, the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) seems to be a completely different approach to solve the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The aim of this article is to correct this impression by showing the close relation of LBM to two standard methods: relaxation schemes and explicit finite difference discretizations. As a side effect, new starting points for a discretization of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are obtained.