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247 records · Page 14

Efficient solvers for hybridized three-field mixed finite element coupled poromechanics

We consider a mixed hybrid finite element formulation for coupled poromechanics. A stabilization strategy based on a macro-element approach is advanced to eliminate the spurious pressure modes appearing in undrained/incompressible conditions. The efficient solution of the stabilized mixed hybrid block system is addressed by developing a class of block triangular preconditioners based on a Schur-complement approximation strategy. Robustness, computational efficiency and scalability of the proposed approach are theoretically discussed and tested using challenging benchmark problems on massively parallel architectures.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Two-level overlapping additive Schwarz preconditioner for training scientific machine learning applications

In this work we introduce a novel two-level overlapping additive Schwarz preconditioner for accelerating the training of scientific machine learning applications. The design of the proposed preconditioner is motivated by the nonlinear two-level overlapping additive Schwarz preconditioner. The neural network parameters are decomposed into groups (subdomains) with overlapping regions. In addition, the network’s feed-forward structure is indirectly imposed through a novel subdomain-wise synchronization strategy and a coarse-level training step. Through a series of numerical experiments, which consider physicsinformed neural networks and operator learning approaches, we demonstrate that the proposed two-level preconditioner significantly speeds up the convergence of the standard (LBFGS) optimizer while also yielding more accurate machine learning models. Moreover, the devised preconditioner is designed to take advantage of model-parallel computations, which can further reduce the training time.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Multiscale formulation of frictional contact mechanics at the pore scale

Direct numerical simulation (DNS) yields the highest fidelity predictions of mechanical deformation at the pore scale, but is prohibitively expensive for analyzing large or many samples. Discrete element methods (DEM) are an efficient alternative, but are limited to granular media and incapable of estimating or controlling prediction errors. We present a pore-level multiscale method (PLMM) that approximates DNS efficiently and with controllable accuracy. We focus on the linear elastic response of a consolidated geologic porous medium with arbitrary microstructure, heterogeneous mineralogy, containing cracks or defects. PLMM decomposes the solid phase into non-overlapping subdomains, on which local basis functions are constructed. The bases are then coupled with a global interface problem that accounts for slip or stick contact conditions between the subdomains. PLMM produces an initial, but accurate, approximation to DNS that can be iteratively improved. It is amenable to parallelism and allows for different mesh, models, and physics in each subdomain. An algebraic interpretation of PLMM as a preconditioner is also presented to allow non-intrusive implementation into existing solvers. Lastly, this work extends previous developments of PLMM in fluid dynamics to solid mechanics and enables future extensions towards modeling coupled flow and mechanics problems.

42 ENGINEERING↗

A greedy Galerkin method to efficiently select sensors for linear dynamical systems

A key challenge in inverse problems is the selection of sensors to gather the most effective data. In this paper, we consider the problem of inferring the initial condition to a linear dynamical system and develop an efficient control-theoretical approach for greedily selecting sensors. Our method employs a Galerkin projection to reduce the size of the inverse problem, resulting in a computationally efficient algorithm for sensor selection. As a byproduct of our algorithm, we obtain a preconditioner for the inverse problem that enables the rapid recovery of the initial condition. Here, we analyze the theoretical performance of our greedy sensor selection algorithm as well as the performance of the associated preconditioner. Finally, we verify our theoretical results on various inverse problems involving partial differential equations.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Porting hypre to heterogeneous computer architectures: Strategies and experiences

We report that linear systems are occurring in many applications, and solving them can take a large amount of the total simulation time. The high performance library hypre provides a variety of interfaces and linear solvers, including various multigrid methods, that have achieved good scalability on a variety of homogeneous parallel computer architectures. Heterogeneous architectures with nodes that have both CPUs and accelerators provide new challenges, since they require more fine-grained parallelism and reduced data movement between different memories on a single node as well as across nodes. We will discuss our experiences and strategies to port hypre to heterogeneous computers with accelerators, including the design of a new memory model, the use of abstractions, the BoxLoop macros in the structured and semi-structured interfaces, and the restructuring of algebraic multigrid (AMG) into modular components. We present numerical experiments comparing CPU and GPU performance for several test problems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A Performance and Energy Study of GPU-Resident Preconditioners for Conjugate Gradient Solvers: In the Context of Existing and Novel Approaches

Optimizing a particular subprogram out of the set of Basic (sparse) Linear Algebra Subprograms (BLAS) for a given architecture is a common topic of research. In applications, however, these BLAS functions rarely appear in isolation; usually, many of them are used together, in various combinations and with varying inputs. As the need to solve a large, sparse linear system is ubiquitous throughout HPC applications, linear solvers constitute a realistic, sufficiently complex and well-defined representative use case for composite BLAS routines. To this end, based on a representative set of matrices drawn from a diverse set of fields, we present a framework to study, from the performance and energy perspective, the efficacy of GPU- resident parallel Conjugate Gradient (CG) linear solver with different preconditioner options, including Gauss-Seidel, Jacobi, and incomplete Cholesky. We also propose a novel GPU-based preconditioner, in which the triangular solves are approximated by an iterative process. The development of this preconditioner was motivated by solving large graph Laplacian linear systems, for which the existing preconditioners either perform slow on GPU-based platforms or are not applicable. We compare the performance of these preconditioners on different hardware accelerator architectures, i.e., AMD MI250X, MI100, Nvidia A100, V100, and Jetson. Our experiments reveal performance trade-offs and provide information on how to select the best strategy for the given linear system, dictated by its properties, and the platform of interest. We demonstrate the application of our novel preconditioner for solving CG and graph Laplacian systems. Overall, the framework can be utilized as a benchmark to guide informed decisions in choosing a specific preconditioner, i.e., whether it is better to rely on the performance of a triangular solver or on the performance of sparse matrix-vector product. Finally, by considering power consumption to solve the linear systems, we report the energy footprint for the solvers.

Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient, GPUs, iterative↗

AIR Algebraic Multigrid for a Space-Time Hybridizable Discontinuous Galerkin Discretization of Advection(-Diffusion)

This article investigates the efficiency, robustness, and scalability of approximate ideal restriction (AIR) algebraic multigrid as a preconditioner in the all-at-once solution of a space-time hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin discretization of advection-dominated flows. The motivation for this study is that the time-dependent advection-diffusion equation can be seen as a “steady” advection-diffusion problem in $(d+1)$-dimensions and AIR has been shown to be a robust solver for steady advection-dominated problems. Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of AIR as a preconditioner for advection-diffusion problems on fixed and time-dependent domains, using both slab-by-slab and all-at-once space-time discretizations, and in the context of uniform and space-time adaptive mesh refinement. A closer look at the geometric coarsening structure that arises in AIR also explains why AIR can provide robust, scalable, space-time convergence on advective and hyperbolic problems, while most multilevel parallel-in-time schemes struggle with such problems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Constrained Local Approximate Ideal Restriction for Advection-Diffusion Problems

Herein this paper focuses on developing a reduction-based algebraic multigrid (AMG) method that is suitable for solving general (non)symmetric linear systems and is naturally robust from pure advection to pure diffusion. Initial motivation comes from a new reduction-based AMG approach, $\ell \text{AIR}$ (local approximate ideal restriction), that was developed for solving advection-dominated problems. Though this new solver is very effective in the advection-dominated regime, its performance degrades in cases where diffusion becomes dominant. This is consistent with the fact that in general, reduction-based AMG methods tend to suffer from growth in complexity and/or convergence rates as the problem size is increased, especially for diffusion-dominated problems in two or three dimensions. Motivated by the success of $\ell \text{AIR}$ in the advective regime, our aim in this paper is to generalize the AIR framework with the goal of improving the performance of the solver in diffusion-dominated regimes. To do so, we propose a novel way to combine mode constraints as used commonly in energy-minimization AMG methods with the local approximation of ideal operators used in $\ell \text{AIR}$. The resulting constrained $\ell \text{AIR}$ algorithm is able to achieve fast scalable convergence on advective and diffusive problems. In addition, it is able to achieve standard low complexity hierarchies in the diffusive regime through aggressive coarsening, something that was previously difficult for reduction-based methods.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Algebraic Multigrid with Filtering: An Efficient Preconditioner for Interior Point Methods in Large-Scale Contact Mechanics Optimization

Large-scale contact mechanics simulations are crucial in many engineering fields such as structural design and manufacturing. In the frictionless case, contact can be modeled by minimizing an energy functional; however, these problems are often nonlinear, nonconvex, and increasingly difficult to solve as mesh resolution increases. In this work, we employ a Newton-based interior-point (IP) filter line-search method, an effective approach for large-scale constrained optimization. While this method converges rapidly, each iteration requires solving a large saddle-point linear system that becomes ill-conditioned as the optimization process converges, largely due to IP treatment of the contact constraints. Such ill-conditioning can hinder solver scalability and increase iteration counts with mesh refinement. Here, to address this, we introduce a novel preconditioner, algebraic multigrid with filtering (AMGF), tailored to the Schur complement of the saddle-point system. Building on the classical AMG solver, commonly used for elasticity, we augment it with a specialized subspace correction that filters near null space components introduced by contact interface constraints. Through theoretical analysis and numerical experiments on a range of linear and nonlinear contact problems, we demonstrate that the proposed solver achieves mesh independent convergence and maintains robustness against the ill-conditioning that notoriously plagues IP methods. These results indicate that AMGF makes contact mechanics simulations more tractable and broadens the applicability of Newton-based IP methods in challenging engineering scenarios. More broadly, AMGF is well suited for problems, optimization or otherwise, where solver performance is limited by a low-dimensional subspace, such as those arising from localized constraints, interface conditions, or model heterogeneities. This makes the method widely applicable beyond contact mechanics and constrained optimization.

Mathematics and Computing↗

Station Impact Analysis 2025

As part of the U.S. DOE EVs@Scale consortium, the NextGen Profiles (NGP) project presents analysis and results from the study of High Power Charging Electric Vehicles and Battery Charging Infrastructure. High Power Charging equipment is capable of recharging electric vehicle traction batteries at power levels of 200KW and above. The intent of the project is to further understand the most recent technological capabilities of the electric mobility industry related to charging performance. The project aims to develop EV, EVSE, and Fleet characterization testing practices and comprehensive analysis with inputs from key industry stakeholders. The results published in this NextGen Profiles project report provide data and insight for use by numerous entities including modeling and simulation organizations, policy makers, fleet planners, industry stakeholders and the general public involved with the development, deployment and operation of electrified transportation technologies. The factors influencing Electric Vehicle (EV) Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC), including EV battery specifications, temperature effects on lithium-ion battery and power electronics performance, lithium-ion battery SOC bounding and charging station design considerations are specifically investigated to analyze their impacts on charging station operation and recommendations are made to minimize charge station dwell time, reduce charging costs and mitigate electric grid and charge station congestion. Additional high-power charging results are anticipated in future publications in support of the U.S. DOE EVs@Scale consortium NextGen Profiles project.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Solving Coupled Cluster Equations by the Newton Krylov Method

We describe using the Newton Krylov method to solve the coupled cluster equation. The method uses a Krylov iterative method to compute the Newton correction to the approximate coupled cluster amplitude. The multiplication of the Jacobian with a vector, which is required in each step of a Krylov iterative method such as the Generalized Minimum Residual (GMRES) method, is carried out through a finite difference approximation, and requires an additional residual evaluation. The overall cost of the method is determined by the sum of the inner Krylov and outer Newton iterations. We discuss the termination criterion used for the inner iteration and show how to apply pre-conditioners to accelerate convergence. We will also examine the use of regularization technique to improve the stability of convergence and compare the method with the widely used direct inversion of iterative subspace (DIIS) methods through numerical examples.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Hybridized Discontinuous Galerkin Methods for Computational Fluid Dynamics

Hybridizable Discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) methods hold promise for any applications with significant advection character, including thermal hydraulics in light water reactors and advanced reactor concepts and fluid models of plasmas in magnetic confinement fusion. Its features include natural upwinding, local element conservation, and extensibility to arbitrarily high order accuracy. In the last fiscal year we have implemented HDG in the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE). We developed a first-of-its-kind automatic static condensation system in MOOSE’s underlying finite element library libMesh which can condense out arbitrarily many internal variables. Finally, we developed the first preconditioner for HDG discretizations of the Navier-Stokes equations which shows robust performance across a wide range of problem sizes and Reynolds numbers. This preconditioner yields solution times that are equivalent to the fastest developed for industry standard finite volume methods. Moreover, the arbitrarily high-order nature of HDG makes it a prime candidate for acceleration via graphical processing units (GPUs). We believe these developments will hold significant importance for future DOE Nuclear Energy (NE) and Fusion Energy Science (FES) programs.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗