Advances in time-domain electromagnetic simulation capabilities through the use of overset grids and massively parallel computing

A new methodology is presented for conducting numerical simulations of electromagnetic scattering and wave-propagation phenomena on massively parallel computing platforms. A process is constructed which is rooted in the Finite-Volume Time-Domain (FVTD) technique to create a simulation capability that is both versatile and practical. In terms of versatility, the method is platform independent, is easily modifiable, and is capable of solving a large number of problems with no alterations. In terms of practicality, the method is sophisticated enough to solve problems of engineering significance and is not limited to mere academic exercises.;Using these new methods and capabilities, results from a large number of wave propagation and scattering simulations are presented. The overset-grid FVTD algorithm is demonstrated to produce results of comparable accuracy to single-grid simulations while simultaneously shortening the grid-generation process and increasing the flexibility and utility of the FVTD technique. Furthermore, the new domain-decomposition approaches developed for overset grids are shown to be capable of producing partitions that are better load balanced and require less interprocessor communication than did previously used overset-grid decomposition methods. This results in parallel efficiencies routinely in excess of 90 percent, even for relatively small problems and large numbers of processors.;In order to achieve this capability, techniques are integrated from several scientific disciplines including computational fluid dynamics, computational electromagnetics, and parallel computing. The end result is the first FVTD solver capable of utilizing the highly flexible overset-gridding process in a distributed-memory computing environment. In the process of creating this capability, work is accomplished to conduct the first study designed to quantify the effects of domain-decomposition dimensionality on the parallel performance of hyperbolic partial differential equations solvers; to develop a new method of partitioning a computational domain comprised of overset grids; and to provide the first detailed assessment of the applicability of overset grids to the field of computational electromagnetics.