A Fast, Accurate, Massively Parallel, Particle-Based, Multi-Plasma-Model Simulation Tool

Efficient computational analysis of systems exhibiting complex plasma phenomena, including non-neutral kinetic, fluid behaviors with radiation transport are critical to many DoD missions.Examples of these systems include plasma thrusters, hypersonic vehicles, radiation effects simulations, RF sources, and compact neutron sources. Current simulation tools rely heavily on magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) models for these systems, which ignore important kinetic effects.Additionally, available commercial codes have not exhibited scaling to massively-parallel CPU/GPU architectures.The goal is to have a single, fast-running simulation tool that dynamically spans both MHD and kinetic regimes, correctly resolving spatial and temporal features.Voss Scientific proposes to develop a new parallel, implicit EM, FDTD PIC code with the following features: two-level domain decomposition using MPI, and CPU/GPU parallelization at critical sections.This approach enables rapid deployment from validated and verified computational physics models and algorithms.The new code will deploy algorithms for dynamic switching between different plasma model descriptions (e.g., fluid to kinetic), adaptive and dynamic mesh refinement.New algorithms with automatic transitioning between the plasma models will be implemented and made robust for general use.The new code will enable accurate design simulations for a wide variety of DoD missions.