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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 109 records · Page 6

Taylor states in stellarators: A fast high-order boundary integral solver

We present a boundary integral equation solver for computing Taylor relaxed states in non-axisymmetric solid and shell-like toroidal geometries. The computation of Taylor states in these geometries is a key element for the calculation of stepped pressure stellarator equilibria. The integral representation of the magnetic field in this work is based on the generalized Debye source formulation, and results in a well-conditioned second-kind boundary integral equation. The integral equation solver is based on a spectral discretization of the geometry and unknowns, and the computation of the associated weakly-singular integrals is performed with high-order quadrature based on a partition of unity. The resulting scheme for applying the integral operator is then coupled with an iterative solver and suitable preconditioners. Several numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of our method, and a direct comparison with the leading code in the field is reported.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Parallel Preconditioning for CFD Problems on the CM-5

Up to today, preconditioning methods on massively parallel systems have faced a major difficulty. The most successful preconditioning methods in terms of accelerating the convergence of the iterative solver such as incomplete LU factorizations are notoriously difficult to implement on parallel machines for two reasons: (1) the actual computation of the preconditioner is not very floating-point intensive, but requires a large amount of unstructured communication, and (2) the application of the preconditioning matrix in the iteration phase (i.e. triangular solves) are difficult to parallelize because of the recursive nature of the computation. Here we present a new approach to preconditioning for very large, sparse, unsymmetric, linear systems, which avoids both difficulties. We explicitly compute an approximate inverse to our original matrix. This new preconditioning matrix can be applied most efficiently for iterative methods on massively parallel machines, since the preconditioning phase involves only a matrix-vector multiplication, with possibly a dense matrix. Furthermore the actual computation of the preconditioning matrix has natural parallelism. For a problem of size n, the preconditioning matrix can be computed by solving n independent small least squares problems. The algorithm and its implementation on the Connection Machine CM-5 are discussed in detail and supported by extensive timings obtained from real problem data.

Simon, Horst D.↗

Iterative methods for large scale static analysis of structures on a scalable multiprocessor supercomputer

A parallel Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient (PCG) iterative solver has been developed and implemented on the iPSC-860 scalable hypercube. This new implementation makes use of the Parallel Automated Runtime Toolkit at ICASE (PARTI) primitives to efficiently program irregular communications patterns that exist in general sparse matrices and in particular in the finite element sparse stiffness matrices. The iterative PCG has been used to solve the finite element equations that result from discretizing large scale aerospace structures. In particular, the static response of the High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) finite element model is solved on the iPSC-860.

Sobh, Nahil Atef↗

Characterization of the Impact of Soft Errors on Iterative Methods

Soft errors caused by transient bit flips have the potential to significantly impact an application’s behavior. This has motivated the design of an array of techniques to detect, isolate, and correct soft errors using microarchitectural, architectural, compilation-based, or application-level techniques to minimize their impact on the executing application. The first step towards the design of good error detection/correction techniques involves an understanding of an application’s vulnerability to soft errors. In this paper, we present the first comprehensive characterization of the impact of soft errors on the convergence characteristics of six iterative methods using application-level fault injection. In particular, we consider the use of iterative methods to incrementally solve a linear systems of equations, which constitutes the core kernel in many scientific applications. We analyze the impact of soft errors in terms of the type of error (single- vs multi-bit), the distribution and location of bits affected, the data structure and the statement impacted, and variation with time. In addition to understanding the vulnerability of iterative solvers to soft errors, this characterization can aid the design of fault injection campaigns that ensure systematic coverage.

fault injection, iterative methods, Silent data co↗

ANTS

The ANTS code (Alternate Non-Linear Two-phase Solver) is based on a novel non-linear solution algorithm for the solution of the two-phase, subchannel fluid equations. It achieves its performance through decoupling of the two-phase momentum equations (axial and transverse) from the axial phasic mass and energy equations which allows for a nested non-linear iteration scheme. This enables a plane-by-plane solution which the inner iteration focuses on a reduced non-linear equation set for the primitives in phasic mass flow rate, enthalpy and void for each node edge. Single node edges are coupled as part of the outer iteration via surface mass fluxes which appear as source terms in the inner iteration scheme. The outer iteration readily accommodates two-phase flow phenomena closure relationships for subchannel mixing and void drift. A primary feature is the use of a non-staggered mesh computational mesh and steady-state iterative solver in contrast to all existing subchannel codes.

Kropaczek, David J↗

Technique for Solving Electrically Small to Large Structures for Broadband Applications

Fast iterative algorithms are often used for solving Method of Moments (MoM) systems, having a large number of unknowns, to determine current distribution and other parameters. The most commonly used fast methods include the fast multipole method (FMM), the precorrected fast Fourier transform (PFFT), and low-rank QR compression methods. These methods reduce the O(N) memory and time requirements to O(N log N) by compressing the dense MoM system so as to exploit the physics of Green s Function interactions. FFT-based techniques for solving such problems are efficient for spacefilling and uniform structures, but their performance substantially degrades for non-uniformly distributed structures due to the inherent need to employ a uniform global grid. FMM or QR techniques are better suited than FFT techniques; however, neither the FMM nor the QR technique can be used at all frequencies. This method has been developed to efficiently solve for a desired parameter of a system or device that can include both electrically large FMM elements, and electrically small QR elements. The system or device is set up as an oct-tree structure that can include regions of both the FMM type and the QR type. The system is enclosed with a cube at a 0- th level, splitting the cube at the 0-th level into eight child cubes. This forms cubes at a 1st level, recursively repeating the splitting process for cubes at successive levels until a desired number of levels is created. For each cube that is thus formed, neighbor lists and interaction lists are maintained. An iterative solver is then used to determine a first matrix vector product for any electrically large elements as well as a second matrix vector product for any electrically small elements that are included in the structure. These matrix vector products for the electrically large and small elements are combined, and a net delta for a combination of the matrix vector products is determined. The iteration continues until a net delta is obtained that is within the predefined limits. The matrix vector products that were last obtained are used to solve for the desired parameter. The solution for the desired parameter is then presented to a user in a tangible form; for example, on a display.

Jandhyala, Vikram↗

Combined fast multipole-QR compression technique for solving electrically small to large structures for broadband applications

An approach that efficiently solves for a desired parameter of a system or device that can include both electrically large fast multipole method (FMM) elements, and electrically small QR elements. The system or device is setup as an oct-tree structure that can include regions of both the FMM type and the QR type. An iterative solver is then used to determine a first matrix vector product for any electrically large elements, and a second matrix vector product for any electrically small elements that are included in the structure. These matrix vector products for the electrically large elements and the electrically small elements are combined, and a net delta for a combination of the matrix vector products is determined. The iteration continues until a net delta is obtained that is within predefined limits. The matrix vector products that were last obtained are used to solve for the desired parameter.

Jandhyala, Vikram↗

Linearized frequency domain Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation formulation

We present a general finite element linearized Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation (LLGE) solver for magnetic systems under weak time-harmonic excitation field. The linearized LLGE is obtained by assuming a small deviation around the equilibrium state of the magnetic system. Inserting such expansion into LLGE and keeping only first order terms gives the linearized LLGE, which gives a frequency domain solution for the complex magnetization amplitudes under an external time-harmonic applied field of a given frequency. We solve the linear system with an iterative solver using generalized minimal residual method. We construct a preconditioner matrix to effectively solve the linear system. The validity, effectiveness, speed, and scalability of the linear solver are demonstrated via numerical examples.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

On High-Order/Low-Order and Micro-Macro Methods for Implicit Time-Stepping of the BGK Model

In this paper, a high-order/low-order (HOLO) method is combined with a micro-macro (MM) decomposition to accelerate iterative solvers in fully implicit time-stepping of the Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook (BGK) equation for gas dynamics. The MM formulation represents a kinetic distribution as the sum of a local Maxwellian and a perturbation. In highly collisional regimes, the perturbation away from initial and boundary layers is small and can be compressed to reduce the overall storage cost of the distribution. The convergence behavior of the MM methods, the usual HOLO method, and the standard source iteration method is analyzed on a linear BGK model. Both the HOLO and MM methods are implemented using a discontinuous Galerkin (DG) discretization in phase space, which naturally preserves the consistency between high- and low-order models required by the HOLO approach. Furthermore, the accuracy and performance of these methods are compared on the Sod shock tube problem and a sudden wall heating boundary layer problem. Overall, the results demonstrate the robustness of the MM and HOLO approaches and illustrate the compression benefits enabled by the MM formulation when the kinetic distribution is near equilibrium.

BGK model↗

Scalable Multiphysics Block Preconditioning for Low Mach Number Compressible Resistive MHD with Application to Magnetic Confinement Fusion

This study investigates multiphysics block preconditioners that are critical in devising scalable Newton–Krylov iterative solvers for longer time-scale fully implicit fluid plasma models. The specific model of interest is the visco-resistive, low Mach number, compressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model. This model describes the dynamics of conducting fluids in the presence of electromagnetic fields and can be used to study aspects of astrophysical phenomena, important science and technology applications, and basic plasma physics. The specific application of interest that motivates this study is the macroscopic simulation of longer time-scale stability and disruptions of magnetic confinement fusion devices, specifically the ITER Tokamak. The computational solution of the governing balance equations for mass, momentum, heat transfer, and magnetic induction for resistive MHD systems can be extremely challenging. These difficulties arise from both the strong nonlinear, nonsymmetric coupling of fluid and electromagnetic phenomena as well as the significant range of time and length scales that the interactions of these physical mechanisms produce. To handle the range of time and spatial scales of interest, a fully implicit unstructured variational multiscale finite element formulation is employed. For the scalable solution of the Newton linearized systems, fully coupled block preconditioners are designed to leverage algebraic multigrid subsolves. In conclusion, results are presented for the strong and weak scaling of the method as well as the robustness of these techniques for a large range of Lundquist numbers.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Parallel-vector computation for linear structural analysis and non-linear unconstrained optimization problems

Several parallel-vector computational improvements to the unconstrained optimization procedure are described which speed up the structural analysis-synthesis process. A fast parallel-vector Choleski-based equation solver, pvsolve, is incorporated into the well-known SAP-4 general-purpose finite-element code. The new code, denoted PV-SAP, is tested for static structural analysis. Initial results on a four processor CRAY 2 show that using pvsolve reduces the equation solution time by a factor of 14-16 over the original SAP-4 code. In addition, parallel-vector procedures for the Golden Block Search technique and the BFGS method are developed and tested for nonlinear unconstrained optimization. A parallel version of an iterative solver and the pvsolve direct solver are incorporated into the BFGS method. Preliminary results on nonlinear unconstrained optimization test problems, using pvsolve in the analysis, show excellent parallel-vector performance indicating that these parallel-vector algorithms can be used in a new generation of finite-element based structural design/analysis-synthesis codes.

Nguyen, D. T.↗

MAPPRAISER: A massively parallel map-making framework for multi-kilo pixel CMB experiments

Forthcoming cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarized anisotropy experiments have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the Universe and fundamental physics. The sought-after, tale-telling signatures will be however distributed over voluminous data sets which these experiments will collect. These data sets will need to be efficiently processed and unwanted contributions due to astrophysical, environmental, and instrumental effects characterized and efficiently mitigated in order to uncover the signatures. This poses a significant challenge to data analysis methods, techniques, and software tools which will not only have to be able to cope with huge volumes of data but to do so with unprecedented precision driven by the demanding science goals posed for the new experiments. A keystone of efficient CMB data analysis is solvers of very large linear systems of equations. Such systems appear in very diverse contexts throughout CMB data analysis pipelines, however they typically display similar algebraic structures and can therefore be solved using similar numerical techniques. Linear systems arising in the so-called map-making problem are one of the most prominent and common ones. In this work we present a massively parallel, flexible and extensible framework, comprised of a numerical library, MIDAPACK, and a high level code, MAPPRAISER, which provide tools for solving efficiently such systems. Here, the framework implements iterative solvers based on conjugate gradient techniques: enlarged and preconditioned using different preconditioners. We demonstrate the framework on simulated examples reflecting basic characteristics of the forthcoming data sets issued by ground-based and satellite-borne instruments, executing it on as many as 16,384 compute cores. The software is developed as an open source project freely available to the community at: https://github.com/B3Dcmb/midapack.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

On performance of Krylov smoothing for fully-coupled AMG preconditioners for VMS resistive MHD

Here, this study explores the performance and scaling of a GMRES Krylov method employed as a smoother for an algebraic multigrid (AMG) preconditioned Newton- Krylov solution approach applied to a fully-implicit variational multiscale (VMS) nite element (FE) resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) formulation. In this context a Newton iteration is used for the nonlinear system and a Krylov (GMRES) method is employed for the linear subsystems. The efficiency of this approach is critically dependent on the scalability and performance of the AMG preconditioner for the linear solutions and the performance of the smoothers play a critical role. Krylov smoothers are considered in an attempt to reduce the time and memory requirements of existing robust smoothers based on additive Schwarz domain decomposition (DD) with incomplete LU factorization solves on each subdomain. Three time dependent resistive MHD test cases are considered to evaluate the method. The results demonstrate that the GMRES smoother can be faster due to a decrease in the preconditioner setup time and a reduction in outer GMRESR solver iterations, and requires less memory (typically 35% less memory for global GMRES smoother) than the DD ILU smoother.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Hybrid Finite Element--Spectral Method for the Fractional Laplacian: Approximation Theory and Efficient Solver

Here, a numerical scheme is presented for approximating fractional order Poisson problems in two and three dimensions. The scheme is based on reformulating the original problem posed over $\Omega$ on the extruded domain $\mathcal{C}=\Omega\times[0,\infty)$ following. The resulting degenerate elliptic integer order PDE is then approximated using a hybrid FEM-spectral scheme. Finite elements are used in the direction parallel to the problem domain $\Omega$, and an appropriate spectral method is used in the extruded direction. The spectral part of the scheme requires that we approximate the true eigenvalues of the integer order Laplacian over $\Omega$. We derive an a priori error estimate which takes account of the error arising from using an approximation in place of the true eigenvalues. We further present a strategy for choosing approximations of the eigenvalues based on Weyl's law and finite element discretizations of the eigenvalue problem. The system of linear algebraic equations arising from the hybrid FEM-spectral scheme is decomposed into blocks which can be solved effectively using standard iterative solvers such as multigrid and conjugate gradient. Numerical examples in two and three dimensions suggest that the approach is quasi-optimal in terms of complexity.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A Fast Solver for Implicit Integration of the Vlasov--Poisson System in the Eulerian Framework

In this paper, we present a domain decomposition algorithm to accelerate the solution of Eulerian-type discretizations of the linear, steady-state Vlasov equation. The steady-state solver then forms a key component in the implementation of fully implicit or nearly fully implicit temporal integrators for the nonlinear Vlasov--Poisson system. The solver relies on a particular decomposition of phase space that enables the use of sweeping techniques commonly used in radiation transport applications. The original linear system for the phase space unknowns is then replaced by a smaller linear system involving only unknowns on the boundary between subdomains, which can then be solved efficiently with Krylov methods such as GMRES. Steady-state solves are combined to form an implicit Runge--Kutta time integrator, and the Vlasov equation is coupled self-consistently to the Poisson equation via a linearized procedure or a nonlinear fixed-point method for the electric field. Finally, numerical results for standard test problems demonstrate the efficiency of the domain decomposition approach when compared to the direct application of an iterative solver to the original linear system.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A Segregated Approach for Modeling the Electrochemistry in the 3-D Microstructure of Li-Ion Batteries and Its Acceleration Using Block Preconditioners

Abstract Battery performance is strongly correlated with electrode microstructure. Electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries have complex microstructure geometries that require millions of degrees of freedom to solve the electrochemical system at the microstructure scale. A fast-iterative solver with an appropriate preconditioner is then required to simulate large representative volume in a reasonable time. In this work, a finite element electrochemical model is developed to resolve the concentration and potential within the electrode active materials and the electrolyte domains at the microstructure scale, with an emphasis on numerical stability and scaling performances. The block Gauss-Seidel (BGS) numerical method is implemented because the system of equations within the electrodes is coupled only through the nonlinear Butler–Volmer equation, which governs the electrochemical reaction at the interface between the domains. The best solution strategy found in this work consists of splitting the system into two blocks—one for the concentration and one for the potential field—and then performing block generalized minimal residual preconditioned with algebraic multigrid, using the FEniCS and the Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation libraries. Significant improvements in terms of time to solution (six times faster) and memory usage (halving) are achieved compared with the MUltifrontal Massively Parallel sparse direct Solver. Additionally, BGS experiences decent strong parallel scaling within the electrode domains. Last, the system of equations is modified to specifically address numerical instability induced by electrolyte depletion, which is particularly valuable for simulating fast-charge scenarios relevant for automotive application.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Multilevel Graph Partitioning for Three-Dimensional Discrete Fracture Network Flow Simulations

We present a topology-based method for mesh-partitioning in three-dimensional discrete fracture network (DFN) simulations that takes advantage of the intrinsic multi-level nature of a DFN. DFN models are used to simulate flow and transport through low-permeability fractured media in the subsurface by explicitly representing fractures as discrete entities. The governing equations for flow and transport are numerically integrated on computational meshes generated on the interconnected fracture networks. Modern high-fidelity DFN simulations require high-performance computing on multiple processors where performance and scalability depends partially on obtaining a high-quality partition of the mesh to balance work-loads and minimize communication across all processors. The discrete structure of a DFN naturally lends itself to various graph representations, which can be thought of as coarse-scale representations of the computational mesh. Using this concept, we develop two applications of the multilevel graph partitioning algorithm to partition the mesh of a DFN. In the first, we project a partition of the graph based on the DFN topology onto the mesh of the DFN and in the second, this DFN-based projection is used as the initial condition for further partitioning refinement of the mesh. We compare the performance of these methods with standard multi-level graph partitioning using graph-based metrics (cut, imbalance, partitioning time), computational-based metrics (FLOPS, iterations, solver time), and total run time. The DFN-based and the mesh-based partitioning methods are comparable in terms of the graph-based metrics, but the time required to obtain the partition is several orders of magnitude faster using the DFN-based partitions. The computation-based metrics show comparable performance between both methods so, in combination, the DFN-based partitions are several orders of magnitude faster than the mesh-based partition. Furthermore, the method which uses the DFN-partition solution as the initial condition of the mesh partition provided cut and imbalance values that were close to the mesh-based partition but in a fraction of the time. In turn, this hybrid method outperformed both of the other methods in terms of the total run time.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Effect of non-uniform void distributions on the yielding of metals

High-throughput (several thousand) calculations have been carried out to investigate the yield behavior of porous materials with randomly distributed pores, porosity levels over four orders of magnitude and up to a hundred pores per simulation box. To this end, a Galerkin based fast Fourier transform (FFT) formulation was enhanced to deal with high phase contrast materials. In addition, GPU parallelization was employed in solving the governing equation for strain fluctuations using a Krylov iterative solver. Emphasis is laid on the conditions under which percolation of plastically non-deforming zones through the porous network emerge, a regime termed unhomogeneous yielding. By way of contrast, the regime where the plastic strain fluctuations (associated with the heterogeneous void-matrix aggregate) fall below the percolation threshold is defined as homogeneous yielding. Here, we find that nonuniform pore distributions only affect unhomogeneous yielding and have a universal softening effect. The extent of this distribution softening is analyzed as a function of porosity, cell size and number of realizations. Whether the uncovered universal distribution softening has direct implications on failure resistance of porous materials is discussed.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗