Implementation of a 3-D nonlinear MHD (magnetohydrodynamics) calculation on the Intel hypercube

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:5472728

Lynch, V E; Carreras, B A; Drake, J B; Hicks, H R; Lawkins, W F

The optimization of numerical schemes and increasing computer capabilities in the last ten years have improved the efficiency of 3-D nonlinear resistive MHD calculations by about two to three orders of magnitude. However, we are still very limited in performing these types of calculations. Hypercubes have a large number of processors with only local memory and bidirectional links among neighbors. The Intel Hypercube at Oak Ridge has 64 processors with 0.5 megabytes of memory per processor. The multiplicity of processors opens new possibilities for the treatment of such computations. The constraint on time and resources favored the approach of using the existing RSF code which solves as an initial value problem the reduced set of MHD equations for a periodic cylindrical geometry. This code includes minimal physics and geometry, but contains the basic three dimensionality and nonlinear structure of the equations. The code solves the reduced set of MHD equations by Fourier expansion in two angular coordinates and finite differences in the radial one. Due to the continuing interest in these calculations and the likelihood that future supercomputers will take greater advantage of parallelism, the present study was initiated by the ORNL Exploratory Studies Committee and funded entirely by Laboratory Discretionary Funds. The objectives of the study were: to ascertain the suitability of MHD calculation for parallel computation, to design and implement a parallel algorithm to perform the computations, and to evaluate the hypercube, and in particular, ORNL's Intel iPSC, for use in MHD computations. (LSP)

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 5472728
• Report Number(s): CONF-870947-9; ON: DE88000625
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700103* -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research-- Kinetics
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990210 -- Supercomputers-- (1987-1989)
ALGORITHMS
COMPUTERS
EQUILIBRIUM
HYPERCUBE COMPUTERS
MATHEMATICAL LOGIC
MHD EQUILIBRIUM
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
PARALLEL PROCESSING
PERFORMANCE
PROGRAMMING
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS