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Stabilized FE simulation of prototype thermal-hydraulics problems with integrated adjoint-based capabilities

Journal of Computational Physics

Shadid, John N.; Smith, Thomas M.; Cyr, E.C.; Wildey, T.M.; Pawlowski, Roger P.

A critical aspect of applying modern computational solution methods to complex multiphysics systems of relevance to nuclear reactor modeling, is the assessment of the predictive capability of specific proposed mathematical models. In this respect the understanding of numerical error, the sensitivity of the solution to parameters associated with input data, boundary condition uncertainty, and mathematical models is critical. Additionally, the ability to evaluate and or approximate the model efficiently, to allow development of a reasonable level of statistical diagnostics of the mathematical model and the physical system, is of central importance. In this study we report on initial efforts to apply integrated adjoint-based computational analysis and automatic differentiation tools to begin to address these issues. The study is carried out in the context of a Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes approximation to turbulent fluid flow and heat transfer using a particular spatial discretization based on implicit fully-coupled stabilized FE methods. Initial results are presented that show the promise of these computational techniques in the context of nuclear reactor relevant prototype thermal-hydraulics problems.

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TYPE Journal Article YEAR 2016
ScopusOSTIDOI

Scalable implicit incompressible resistive MHD with stabilized FE and fully-coupled Newton-Krylov-AMG

Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering

Shadid, John N.; Pawlowski, Roger P.; Cyr, E.C.; Tuminaro, Raymond S.; Chacón, L.; Weber, Paula D.

The computational solution of the governing balance equations for mass, momentum, heat transfer and magnetic induction for resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) systems can be extremely challenging. These difficulties arise from both the strong nonlinear, nonsymmetric coupling of fluid and electromagnetic phenomena, as well as the significant range of time- and length-scales that the interactions of these physical mechanisms produce. This paper explores the development of a scalable, fully-implicit stabilized unstructured finite element (FE) capability for 3D incompressible resistive MHD. The discussion considers the development of a stabilized FE formulation in context of the variational multiscale (VMS) method, and describes the scalable implicit time integration and direct-to-steady-state solution capability. The nonlinear solver strategy employs Newton-Krylov methods, which are preconditioned using fully-coupled algebraic multilevel preconditioners. These preconditioners are shown to enable a robust, scalable and efficient solution approach for the large-scale sparse linear systems generated by the Newton linearization. Verification results demonstrate the expected order-of-accuracy for the stabilized FE discretization. The approach is tested on a variety of prototype problems, that include MHD duct flows, an unstable hydromagnetic Kelvin-Helmholtz shear layer, and a 3D island coalescence problem used to model magnetic reconnection. Initial results that explore the scaling of the solution methods are also presented on up to 128K processors for problems with up to 1.8B unknowns on a CrayXK7.

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TYPE Journal Article YEAR 2016
ScopusOSTIDOI

Teko: A block preconditioning capability with concrete example applications in Navier-Stokes and MHD

SIAM Journal on Scientific Computing

Cyr, Eric C.; Shadid, John N.; Tuminaro, Raymond S.

This paper describes the design of Teko, an object-oriented C++ library for implementing advanced block preconditioners. Mathematical design criteria that elucidate the needs of block preconditioning libraries and techniques are explained and shown to motivate the structure of Teko. For instance, a principal design choice was for Teko to strongly reflect the mathematical statement of the preconditioners to reduce development burden and permit focus on the numerics. Additional mechanisms are explained that provide a pathway to developing an optimized production capable block preconditioning capability with Teko. Finally, Teko is demonstrated on fluid flow and magnetohydrodynamics applications. In addition to highlighting the features of the Teko library, these new results illustrate the effectiveness of recent preconditioning developments applied to advanced discretization approaches.

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TYPE Journal Article YEAR 2016
ScopusOSTIDOI
Results 101–125 of 268
Results 101–125 of 268