Skip to main content
SHARE
Publication

Spatial decomposition of structured grids for nuclear reactor simulations...

by Andrew Fitzgerald, Brendan Kochunas, Shane G Stimpson, Thomas Downar
Publication Type
Journal
Journal Name
Annals of Nuclear Energy
Publication Date
Page Numbers
686 to 701
Volume
132

Spatial decomposition methods based on graph partitioning are developed and implemented in the high fidelity neutron transport code MPACT. These graph-based spatial decomposition methods are more general than previous decomposition methods and typically provide better load balance and reduced runtimes due to their improved parallel efficiency. Correlations are drawn between simulation runtime and the balance of the partition for 2D simulations. Comparisons are made using partition balance metrics for different decomposition schemes in 2D and 3D simulations. For typical ranges of subdomains, graph-based partitioning methods offer significant reductions to runtimes. However, for highly decomposed problems, these graph-based methods may decrease convergence rates, thus reducing parallel efficiency compared to older methods.