Solving the Boltzmann equation at 61 gigaflops on a 1024-node CM-5

Conference · Fri Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:46249

Long, L N ^[1]; Myczkowski, J ^[2]

---

1. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
2. Thinking Machines Corp., Cambridge, MA (United States)

This paper documents the use of a massively parallel computer, specifically the Connection Machine CM-5, to solve the Boltzmann equation to model one-dimensional shock wave structure, a boundary layer, and general 3-D flow fields. The Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) model for the collision term combined with a finite difference scheme was used to model the flow. This collision term requires accurate knowledge of the density, temperature, and mean velocity. Great care must be taken in their calculation to insure conservation, which proved to be the most difficult part. The algorithm, however, is well suited to the Connection Machine, and accurate results were obtained with great efficiency. The 1-D version of the code (which actually models a 5-D problem in phase space) was optimized for the CM-5 and sustained 61 gigaflops on a 1024-node CM-5.

• OSTI ID: 46249
• Report Number(s): CONF-931115--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
ALGORITHMS
BOLTZMANN EQUATION
FINITE DIFFERENCE METHOD
PARALLEL PROCESSING
PERFORMANCE
SUPERCOMPUTERS