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At least 379 records · Page 21

A fast upwind solver for the Euler equations on three-dimensional unstructured meshes

An upwind scheme is presented for solving the three-dimensional Euler equations on unstructured tetrahedral meshes. Spatial discretization is accomplished by a cell-centered finite-volume formulation using flux-difference splitting. Higher-order differences are formed by a novel cell reconstruction process which results in computational times per cell comparable to those of structured codes. The approach yields highly resolved solutions in regions of smooth flow while avoiding oscillations across shocks without explicit limiting. Solutions are advanced in time by a 3-stage Runge-Kutta time-stepping scheme with convergence accelerated to steady state by local time stepping and implicit residual smoothing. Solutions are presented for a range of configurations in the transonic speed regime to demonstrate code accuracy, speed, and robustness. The results include an assessment of grid sensitivity and convergence acceleration by mesh sequencing.

Frink, Neal T.↗

An efficient massively parallel Euler solver for unstructured grids

A data parallel mesh-vertex upwind finite-volume scheme for solving the Euler equations on triangular unstructured meshes is described. A novel vertex-based partitioning of the problem is introduced which minimizes the computation and communication costs associated with distributing the computation to the processors of a massively parallel computer. Finally, the performance of this unstructured computation on 8K processors of the Connection Machine CM-2 is compared with one processor of a Cray-YMP. The experiments show that 8K processors of the CM-2 achieve approximately 70 percent of the performance of one processor of the Cray-YMP on the unstructured mesh computations described here.

Hammond, Steven W.↗

Efficient use of direct solvers for the calculation of compressible flows

While the direct solution of systems of linear equations resulting from fluid dynamic problems has generally not been practical in the past, it is presently demonstrated that the direct method is often more efficient than the most popular iterative schemes when constructed in such a way as to take advantage of presently available vector processing capabilities and large memory. The vertical line Gauss-Seidel algorithm was chosen as the iterative method to be compared with the direct method. It is fond that the direct method becomes efficient only when large residual reductions are desired.

Riggins, David W.↗

Experiments with elliptic problem solvers on the Cedar multicluster

The implementation and performance of algorithms for the solution of elliptic problems on the Cedar multiprocessor is examined. The algorithms considered are conjugate gradient schemes with or without preconditioning on a rectangular domain and domain decomposition techniques with overlapping (Schwarz Alternating Method) and nonoverlapping subdomains on a T-shaped domain. Some preliminary results from a current research effort are presented.

Frank, G.↗

Role of artificial viscosity in Euler and Navier-Stokes solvers

A method is proposed to determine directly the amount of artificial viscosity needed for stability using an eigenvalue analysis for a finite difference representation of the Navier-Stokes equations. The stability and growth of small perturbations about a steady flow over airfoils are analyzed for various amounts of artificial viscosity. The eigenvalues were determined for a small time-dependent perturbation about a steady inviscid flow over an NACA 0012 airfoil at a Mach number of 0.8 and angle of attack of 0 deg. The method has been applied to inviscid flows here, but as discussed is also applicable to viscous flows. The movement of the eigenvalue constellation with respect to the amount of artificial viscosity is studied. The stability boundaries as a function of the amount of artificial viscosity from both the eigenvalue analysis and the time-marching scheme are also presented. The eigenvalue procedure not only allows for determining the effect of varying amounts of artificial viscosity, but also for the effects of different forms of artificial viscosity.

Mahajan, Aparajit J.↗

Parallelized solvers for heat conduction formulations

Based on multilevel partitioning, this paper develops a structural parallelizable solution methodology that enables a significant reduction in computational effort and memory requirements for very large scale linear and nonlinear steady and transient thermal (heat conduction) models. Due to the generality of the formulation of the scheme, both finite element and finite difference simulations can be treated. Diverse model topologies can thus be handled, including both simply and multiply connected (branched/perforated) geometries. To verify the methodology, analytical and numerical benchmark trends are verified in both sequential and parallel computer environments.

Padovan, Joe↗

Implicit solvers for unstructured meshes

Implicit methods for unstructured mesh computations are developed and tested. The approximate system which arises from the Newton-linearization of the nonlinear evolution operator is solved by using the preconditioned generalized minimum residual technique. These different preconditioners are investigated: the incomplete LU factorization (ILU), block diagonal factorization, and the symmetric successive over-relaxation (SSOR). The preconditioners have been optimized to have good vectorization properties. The various methods are compared over a wide range of problems. Ordering of the unknowns, which affects the convergence of these sparse matrix iterative methods, is also investigated. Results are presented for inviscid and turbulent viscous calculations on single and multielement airfoil configurations using globally and adaptively generated meshes.

Venkatakrishnan, V.↗

An implicit three-dimensional Navier-Stokes solver for compressible flow

A three-dimensional numerical method based on the lower-upper symmetric-Gauss-Seidel implicit scheme in conjunction with the flux-limited dissipation model is developed for solving the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. A new computer code which is based on this method requires only 9 microsec per grid-point per iteration on a single processor of a Cray YMP computer and executes at the sustained rate of 170 MFLOPS. A reduction of 4 orders of magnitude in the residual for a high Reynolds number flow using 230 K grid points is obtained in 24 minutes. The computational results compare well with available experimental data.

Yoon, Seokkwan↗

Application of an unsteady Navier-Stokes solver to transonic turbine design

This study presents a numerical evaluation of the performance of the first stage of a new-generation turbine design. The numerical method solves the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations using a system of patched grids. Three-dimensional effects of stream-tube contraction are also modeled. The study focuses on the effects of axial gap variation on the unsteady rotor-stator interactions and on stage performance. Results are presented for three different axial gaps. The results indicate that the unsteady interactions can be very large in this design. These interactions affect not only the stage efficiency but also substantially alter the time-averaged features of the flow. In particular, for the case of the smallest axial gap, it was found that there was an unsteady shock on the stator suction surface which spanned the gap region and impinged upon the moving rotor airfoils.

Rangwalla, Akil A.↗

The improved robustness of multigrid elliptic solvers based on multiple semicoarsened grids

Multigrid convergence rates degenerate on problems with stretched grids or anisotropic operators, unless one uses line or plane relaxation. For 3-D problems, only plane relaxation suffices, in general. While line and plane relaxation algorithms are efficient on sequential machines, they are quite awkward and inefficient on parallel machines. A new multigrid algorithm is presented based on the use of multiple coarse grids, that eliminates the need for line or plane relaxation in anisotropic problems. This algorithm was developed and the standard multigrid theory was extended to establish rapid convergence for this class of algorithms. The new algorithm uses only point relaxation, allowing easy and efficient parallel implementation, yet achieves robustness and convergence rates comparable to line and plane relaxation multigrid algorithms. The algorithm described is a variant of Mulder's multigrid algorithm for hyperbolic problems. The latter uses multiple coarse grids to achieve robustness, but is unsuitable for elliptic problems, since its V-cycle convergence rate goes to one as the number of levels increases. The new algorithm combines the contributions from the multiple coarse grid via a local switch, based on the strength of the discrete operator in each coordinate direction.

Naik, Naomi H.↗

Implementation of the Lanczos eigen-solver for the CSI code on high performance computers

The focus of this research is to implement a Lanczos algorithm for the Control-Structure Integration (CSI) code which can exploit both parallel and vector capabilities provided by modern, high performance computers. A partial restoring orthogonality scheme is also developed and incorporated into the basic Lanczos algorithm. The numerical performance of the proposed parallel-vector Lanczos algorithm is demonstrated by solving for the frequencies and mode shapes of the Phase Zero CSI model. The superior performance of the Lanczos algorithm is illustrated in tabular form.

Nguyen, Duc T.↗

Quality assessment of two- and three-dimensional unstructured meshes and validation of an upwind Euler flow solver

Quality assessment procedures are described for two-dimensional and three-dimensional unstructured meshes. The procedures include measurement of minimum angles, element aspect ratios, stretching, and element skewness. Meshes about the ONERA M6 wing and the Boeing 747 transport configuration are generated using an advancing front method grid generation package of programs. Solutions of Euler's equations for these meshes are obtained at low angle-of-attack, transonic conditions. Results for these cases, obtained as part of a validation study demonstrate the accuracy of an implicit upwind Euler solution algorithm.

Woodard, Paul R.↗

Aspects of Unstructured Grids and Finite-Volume Solvers for the Euler and Navier-Stokes Equations

One of the major achievements in engineering science has been the development of computer algorithms for solving nonlinear differential equations such as the Navier-Stokes equations. In the past, limited computer resources have motivated the development of efficient numerical schemes in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) utilizing structured meshes. The use of structured meshes greatly simplifies the implementation of CFD algorithms on conventional computers. Unstructured grids on the other hand offer an alternative to modeling complex geometries. Unstructured meshes have irregular connectivity and usually contain combinations of triangles, quadrilaterals, tetrahedra, and hexahedra. The generation and use of unstructured grids poses new challenges in CFD. The purpose of this note is to present recent developments in the unstructured grid generation and flow solution technology.

Barth, Timothy J.↗

Parallel variable-band Choleski solvers for computational structural analysis applications on vector multiprocessor supercomputers

A Choleski method used to solve linear systems of equations that arise in large scale structural analyses is described. The method uses a novel variable-band storage scheme and is structured to exploit fast local memory caches while minimizing data access delays between main memory and vector registers. Several parallel implementations of this method are described for the CRAY-2 and CRAY Y-MP computers demonstrating the use of microtasking and autotasking directives. A portable parallel language, FORCE, is also used for two different parallel implementations, demonstrating the use of CRAY macrotasking. Results are presented comparing the matrix factorization times for three representative structural analysis problems from runs made in both dedicated and multi-user modes on both the CRAY-2 and CRAY Y-MP computers. CPU and wall clock timings are given for the various parallel methods and are compared to single processor timings of the same algorithm. Computation rates over 1 GIGAFLOP (1 billion floating point operations per second) on a four processor CRAY-2 and over 2 GIGAFLOPS on an eight processor CRAY Y-MP are demonstrated as measured by wall clock time in a dedicated environment. Reduced wall clock times for the parallel methods relative to the single processor implementation of the same Choleski algorithm are also demonstrated for runs made in multi-user mode.

Poole, E. L.↗