CFC 2025

Keynote

An MPI-Parallel Meshfree Generalization of the Finite Volume Method

  • Breiden, Farah (University of Bonn)
  • Schweitzer, Marc Alexander (Fraunhofer SCAI)

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The Finite Volume Particle Method (FVPM) is a meshfree particle generalization of the well known Finite Volume Method. It combines the advantages of the Finite Volume Method with those of classical Particle Methods, particularly Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics. Hence, it is quantity conserving, stable and efficiently covers changing domains due to its Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian-property (ALE-property). Altogether, it is perfectly suited for simulating conservative free-surface flows. However, it is a particle method, and particle movement, changing neighborhoods and computation of interaction intensity is an expensive and the most time-consuming part of the algorithm. To make these parts more efficient, we implement a tree-based version of FVPM. This simplifies neighbor search, MPI parallelization and leads to a satisfactory uniform and hence efficient particle distribution, i.e. we avoid artificial holes in the covering as well as large local neighborhoods due to particle crowding. This is to our knowledge the first MPI-parallelized implementation of FVPM and enables the computation of large fluid dynamic problems on changing domains in three dimensions efficiently in appropriate time. Furthermore, it enables future coupling with other meshfree methods. A natural candidate here is the Partition of Unity Method (PUM), since both methods are based on a partition of unity on their discretization cells and on the same underlying tree structure . This coupling will allow us to optimize the simulation of complex applications including fluid- and elastodynamic processes such as fluid-structure interaction or problems including phase changes of moving fluid as in additive manufacturing processes on a micro-scale.