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A comparative study of multi-material data structures for computational physics applications

Journal Article · · Computers and Mathematics with Applications (Oxford)
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [1]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  2. Bristol Univ. (United Kingdom); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

The data structures used to represent the multi-material state of a computational physics application can have a significant impact on its performance. Here, we look at efficient data structures for applications where there may be many materials overall, but where most computational cells contain only one or a few of these materials. We develop simple performance models for selecting possible data structures and programming patterns. We verify the analytic performance models with a small test program of the representative cases. We discuss the impact of these techniques and analysis for multi-material physics applications, which are also applicable to a wide range of sparse computational data structures.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Programs (DP) (NA-10); Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1460652
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--17-30766
Journal Information:
Computers and Mathematics with Applications (Oxford), Journal Name: Computers and Mathematics with Applications (Oxford) Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 78; ISSN 0898-1221
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English