A generic software design for Delaunay refinement meshing

This paper describes a generic software designed to implement meshing algorithms based on the Delaunay refinement paradigm. Such a meshing algorithm is generally described through a set of rules guiding the refinement of mesh elements. The central item of the software design is a generic class, called a mesher level, able to handle one of the rules guiding the refinement process. Several instantiations of the mesher level class can be stacked and tied together to implement the whole refinement process. As shown in this paper, the design is flexible enough to implement all currently known mesh generation algorithms based on Delaunay refinement. In particular it can be used to generate meshes approximating smooth or piecewise smooth surfaces, as well as to mesh three dimensional domains bounded by such surfaces. It also adapts to algorithms handling small input angles and various refinement criteria. This design highly simplifies the task of implementing Delaunay refinement meshing algorithms. It has been used to implemented several meshing algorithms in the CGAL library

DOLFIN: Automated Finite Element Computing

We describe here a library aimed at automating the solution of partial differential equations using the finite element method. By employing novel techniques for automated code generation, the library combines a high level of expressiveness with efficient computation. Finite element variational forms may be expressed in near mathematical notation, from which low-level code is automatically generated, compiled and seamlessly integrated with efficient implementations of computational meshes and high-performance linear algebra. Easy-to-use object-oriented interfaces to the library are provided in the form of a C++ library and a Python module. This paper discusses the mathematical abstractions and methods used in the design of the library and its implementation. A number of examples are presented to demonstrate the use of the library in application code

A scalable parallel finite element framework for growing geometries. Application to metal additive manufacturing

This work introduces an innovative parallel, fully-distributed finite element framework for growing geometries and its application to metal additive manufacturing. It is well-known that virtual part design and qualification in additive manufacturing requires highly-accurate multiscale and multiphysics analyses. Only high performance computing tools are able to handle such complexity in time frames compatible with time-to-market. However, efficiency, without loss of accuracy, has rarely held the centre stage in the numerical community. Here, in contrast, the framework is designed to adequately exploit the resources of high-end distributed-memory machines. It is grounded on three building blocks: (1) Hierarchical adaptive mesh refinement with octree-based meshes; (2) a parallel strategy to model the growth of the geometry; (3) state-of-the-art parallel iterative linear solvers. Computational experiments consider the heat transfer analysis at the part scale of the printing process by powder-bed technologies. After verification against a 3D benchmark, a strong-scaling analysis assesses performance and identifies major sources of parallel overhead. A third numerical example examines the efficiency and robustness of (2) in a curved 3D shape. Unprecedented parallelism and scalability were achieved in this work. Hence, this framework contributes to take on higher complexity and/or accuracy, not only of part-scale simulations of metal or polymer additive manufacturing, but also in welding, sedimentation, atherosclerosis, or any other physical problem where the physical domain of interest grows in time