Achieving High Speed CFD simulations: Optimization, Parallelization, and FPGA Acceleration for the unstructured DLR TAU Code

Today, large scale parallel simulations are fundamental tools to handle complex problems. The number of processors in current computation platforms has been recently increased and therefore it is necessary to optimize the application performance and to enhance the scalability of massively-parallel systems. In addition, new heterogeneous architectures, combining conventional processors with specific hardware, like FPGAs, to accelerate the most time consuming functions are considered as a strong alternative to boost the performance. In this paper, the performance of the DLR TAU code is analyzed and optimized. The improvement of the code efficiency is addressed through three key activities: Optimization, parallelization and hardware acceleration. At first, a profiling analysis of the most time-consuming processes of the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes flow solver on a three-dimensional unstructured mesh is performed. Then, a study of the code scalability with new partitioning algorithms are tested to show the most suitable partitioning algorithms for the selected applications. Finally, a feasibility study on the application of FPGAs and GPUs for the hardware acceleration of CFD simulations is presented

A spectrally-accurate FVTD technique for complicated amplification and reconfigurable filtering EMC devices

The consistent and computationally economical analysis of demanding amplification and filtering structures is introduced in this paper via a new spectrally-precise finite-volume time-domain algorithm. Combining a family of spatial derivative approximators with controllable accuracy in general curvilinear coordinates, the proposed method employs a fully conservative field flux formulation to derive electromagnetic quantities in areas with fine structural details. Moreover, the resulting 3-D operators assign the appropriate weight to each spatial stencil at arbitrary media interfaces, while for periodic components the domain is systematically divided to a number of nonoverlapping subdomains. Numerical results from various real-world configurations verify our technique and reveal its universality

Dr. KID: Direct Remeshing and K-set Isometric Decomposition for Scalable Physicalization of Organic Shapes

Dr. KID is an algorithm that uses isometric decomposition for the physicalization of potato-shaped organic models in a puzzle fashion. The algorithm begins with creating a simple, regular triangular surface mesh of organic shapes, followed by iterative k-means clustering and remeshing. For clustering, we need similarity between triangles (segments) which is defined as a distance function. The distance function maps each triangle's shape to a single point in the virtual 3D space. Thus, the distance between the triangles indicates their degree of dissimilarity. K-means clustering uses this distance and sorts of segments into k classes. After this, remeshing is applied to minimize the distance between triangles within the same cluster by making their shapes identical. Clustering and remeshing are repeated until the distance between triangles in the same cluster reaches an acceptable threshold. We adopt a curvature-aware strategy to determine the surface thickness and finalize puzzle pieces for 3D printing. Identical hinges and holes are created for assembling the puzzle components. For smoother outcomes, we use triangle subdivision along with curvature-aware clustering, generating curved triangular patches for 3D printing. Our algorithm was evaluated using various models, and the 3D-printed results were analyzed. Findings indicate that our algorithm performs reliably on target organic shapes with minimal loss of input geometry

PolySurface:a design approach for rapid prototyping of shape-changing displays using semi-solid surfaces

We present a design approach for rapid fabrication of high fidelity interactive shape-changing displays using bespoke semi-solid surfaces. This is achieved by segmenting virtual representations of the given data and mapping it to a dynamic physical polygonal surface. First, we establish the design and fabrication approach for generating semi-solid reconfigurable surfaces. Secondly, we demonstrate the generalizability of this approach by presenting design sessions using datasets provided by experts from a diverse range of domains. Thirdly, we evaluate user engagement with the prototype hardware systems that are built. We learned that all participants, all of whom had no previous interaction with shape-changing displays, were able to successfully design interactive hardware systems that physically represent data specific to their work. Finally, we reflect on the content generated to understand if our approach is effective at representing intended output based on a set of user defined functionality requirements

PolySurface: a design approach for rapid prototyping of shape-changing displays using semi-solid surfaces

We present a design approach for rapid fabrication of high fidelity interactive shape-changing displays using bespoke semi-solid surfaces. This is achieved by segmenting virtual representations of the given data and mapping it to a dynamic physical polygonal surface. First, we establish the design and fabrication approach for generating semi-solid reconfigurable surfaces. Secondly, we demonstrate the generalizability of this approach by presenting design sessions using datasets provided by experts from a diverse range of domains. Thirdly, we evaluate user engagement with the prototype hardware systems that are built. We learned that all participants, all of whom had no previous interaction with shape-changing displays, were able to successfully design interactive hardware systems that physically represent data specific to their work. Finally, we reflect on the content generated to understand if our approach is effective at representing intended output based on a set of user defined functionality requirements

Dual-Drive Directional Couplers for Programmable Integrated Photonics

A novel class of photonic integrated circuits employs large-scale integration of combined beam splitters and waveguides loaded with phase actuators to provide complex linear processing functionalities that can be reconfigured dynamically. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a thermally-actuated Dual-Drive Directional Coupler (DD-DC) design, integrated in a silicon nitride platform, functioning both as a standalone optical component providing arbitrary optical beam splitting and common phase as well as for its use in waveguide mesh arrangements. We analyze the experimental demonstration of the first integration of a triangular waveguide mesh arrangement, and the first DD-DC based arrangement along with an extended analysis of its performance and scalability