The human cochlea is a remarkable device, able to discern extremely small
amplitude sound pressure waves, and discriminate between very close
frequencies. Simulation of the cochlea is computationally challenging due to
its complex geometry, intricate construction and small physical size. We have
developed, and are continuing to refine, a detailed three-dimensional
computational model based on an accurate cochlear geometry obtained from
physical measurements. In the model, the immersed boundary method is used to
calculate the fluid-structure interactions produced in response to incoming
sound waves. The model includes a detailed and realistic description of the
various elastic structures present.
In this paper, we describe the computational model and its performance on the
latest generation of shared memory servers from Hewlett Packard. Using compiler
generated threads and OpenMP directives, we have achieved a high degree of
parallelism in the executable, which has made possible several large scale
numerical simulation experiments that study the interesting features of the
cochlear system. We show several results from these simulations, reproducing
some of the basic known characteristics of cochlear mechanics.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figure