Achieving scalable computational modelling through frameworks of interchangeable numerical methods: StGermain-Snark

Full text: When developing computational models of phenomena, physicists are concerned with both the general mathematical formulation of the problem, and the detailed physical parameters, and ideally can iteratively refine both over time. However given the difficulty of writing parallel programs for high-performance computer architectures, time constraints often force the use of a pre-existing code and its associated formulation. This initial time saving is often offset by difficulties once the limitations of a given numerical method are reached. In this talk we present StGermain and Snark, parallel solver frameworks with a modular design which allow quickly changing both the mathematical formulation (e.g. incorporating Lagrangian integration points into the Finite Element Method), and the details of the problem being simulated (constitutive relationships, material types etc). Copyright (2005) Australian Institute of Physics