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Section: New Results

Efficient algorithmic for load balancing and code coupling in complex simulations

StarPart Redesign

In the context of the french ICARUS project (FUI), which focuses the development of high-fidelity calculation tools for the design of hot engine parts (aeronautics & automotive), we are looking to develop new load-balancing algorithms to optimize the complex numerical simulations of our industrial and academic partners (Turbomeca, Siemens, Cerfacs, Onera, ...). Indeed, the efficient execution of large-scale coupled simulations on powerful computers is a real challenge, which requires revisiting traditional load-balancing algorithms based on graph partitioning. A thesis on this subject has already been conducted in the Inria HiePACS team in 2016 by Maria Predari, which has successfully developed a co-partitioning algorithm that balances the load of two coupled codes by taking into account the coupling interactions between these codes.

This work was initially integrated into the StarPart platform. The necessary extension of our algorithms to parallel & distributed (increasingly dynamic) versions has led to a complete redesign of StarPart, which has been the focus of our efforts this year. The StarPart framework provides the necessary building blocks to develop new graph algorithms in the context of HPC, such as those we are targeting. The strength of StarPart lies in the fact that it is a light runtime system applied to the issue of "graph computing". It provides a unified data model and a uniform programming interface that allows easy access to a dozen partitioning libraries, including Metis, Scotch, Zoltan, etc. Thus, it is possible, for example, to load a mesh from an industrial test case provided by our partners (or an academic graph collection as DIMACS'10) and to easily compare the results for the different partitioners integrated in StarPart.