Load-Balancing Strategies in Discrete Element Method Simulations

In this research, we investigate the influence of a load-balancing strategy and parametrization on the speed-up of discrete element method simulations using Lethe-DEM. Lethe-DEM is an open-source DEM code which uses a cell-based load-balancing strategy. We compare the computational performance of di...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Processes 2022-01, Vol.10 (1), p.79
Main Authors: Golshan, Shahab, Blais, Bruno
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Benchmarks
Computer applications
Constant region
Costs
Discrete element method
Load
Load balancing
Parameterization
Rotation
Simulation
Software upgrading
Source code
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In this research, we investigate the influence of a load-balancing strategy and parametrization on the speed-up of discrete element method simulations using Lethe-DEM. Lethe-DEM is an open-source DEM code which uses a cell-based load-balancing strategy. We compare the computational performance of different cell-weighing strategies based on the number of particles per cell (linear and quadratic). We observe two minimums for particle to cell weights (at 3, 40 for quadratic, and 15, 50 for linear) in both linear and quadratic strategies. The first and second minimums are attributed to the suitable distribution of cell-based and particle-based functions, respectively. We use four benchmark simulations (packing, rotating drum, silo, and V blender) to investigate the computational performances of different load-balancing schemes (namely, single-step, frequent and dynamic). These benchmarks are chosen to demonstrate different scenarios that may occur in a DEM simulation. In a large-scale rotating drum simulation, which shows the systems in which particles occupy a constant region after reaching steady-state, single-step load-balancing shows the best performance. In a silo and V blender, where particles move in one direction or have a reciprocating motion, frequent and dynamic schemes are preferred. We propose an automatic load-balancing scheme (dynamic) that finds the best load-balancing steps according to the imbalance of computational load between the processes. Furthermore, we show the high computational performance of Lethe-DEM in the simulation of the packing of 108 particles on 4800 processes. We show that simulations with optimum load-balancing need ≈40% less time compared to the simulations with no load-balancing.
ISSN:2227-9717
2227-9717
DOI:10.3390/pr10010079