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The benefits of parallel multibody simulation
Author(s) -
Eichberger A.,
Führer C.,
Schwertassek R.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.421
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1097-0207
pISSN - 0029-5981
DOI - 10.1002/nme.1620370909
Subject(s) - transputer , multibody system , computer science , parallel computing , exploit , formalism (music) , numerical integration , computational science , residual , dynamical systems theory , speedup , algorithm , mathematics , art , musical , mathematical analysis , physics , computer security , quantum mechanics , visual arts
To exploit the benefits of parallel computer architectures for multibody system simulation, an interdisciplinary approach has been pursued, combining knowledge of the three disciplines of dynamics, numerical mathematics and computer science. An analysis of the options available for the formulation and numerical solution of the dynamical system equations yielded a surprising result. A method initially proposed to solve the inverse problem of dynamics is the best choice to generate the system equations required for solving the simulation problem, when relying on implicit integration routines. Such routines have the particular advantage of handling stiff systems, too. The new O ( N )‐residual formalism, generating the system equations in a form required for implicit numerical integration, has a high potential to benefit from parallel computer architectures. Two strategies of medium and coarse grain parallelization have been implemented on a Transputer network to obtain a package for parallel multibody simulation. An analysis of the performance of this package demonstrates for typical multibody simulation problems that the new code is five times faster than existing codes when implemented on a serial computer. An additional speed‐up by the same order of magnitude is obtained when the code is implemented on a Transputer network.