Domain Decomposition and Dynamics Substructuring for HPC in Structural

The Engineering Dynamics (ED) research group develops numerical methods for the simulation of dynamic problems. These are problems involving factors that change over time. The emphasis is on problems where a fixed structure comes into contact with a fluid. One example is ships, where the bearings are often lubricated with the aid of water. When two solid components in the bearing come into contact with each other, a temporary distortion takes place. This “mixed lubrication” occurs mainly at very low speeds. The problem is then no longer linear. Methods are developed to solve such problems.

Another field of research involves solving problems with excessive degrees of freedom. This normally takes far too long which is why efforts are being made to shorten the problem-solving time. In a design process it is often desirable to rapidly calculate an approximation of the exact solution so that design changes can be made at an early stage. By dividing the problem into sub-parts (‘substructuring’), relevant calculations can be carried out using several computers at the same time (‘parallel computing’).

The work of the ED group is applied for e.g. ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk. The satellites designed there must be capable of withstanding extreme fluctuations in temperature. The temperature on the sun side can run up to sixty degrees, while the shade side is below freezing. The designers want to be able to rapidly calculate the consequences of design steps. With the methods of the ED group these calculations can be performed in, for instance, five seconds instead of several hours.

Contact:

Link: http://www.ocp.tudelft.nl/em/