References

Mechanical Sciences

Mech. Sci.

2191-916X

Copernicus Publications

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/ms-4-49-2013

CHRONO: a parallel multi-physics library for rigid-body, flexible-body, and fluid dynamics

Mazhar

¹ Heyn

¹ Pazouki

¹ Melanz

¹ Seidl

¹ Bartholomew

¹ Tasora

² Negrut

Simulation Based Engineering Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Parma, V.G.Usberti 181/A, 43100, Parma, Italy

12 02 2013

4 1 49 64

2013

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This article is available from https://ms.copernicus.org/articles/4/49/2013/ms-4-49-2013.html

The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://ms.copernicus.org/articles/4/49/2013/ms-4-49-2013.pdf

The last decade witnessed a manifest shift in the microprocessor industry towards chip designs that promote parallel computing. Until recently the privilege of a select group of large research centers, Teraflop computing is becoming a commodity owing to inexpensive GPU cards and multi to many-core x86 processors. This paradigm shift towards large scale parallel computing has been leveraged in CHRONO, a freely available C++ multi-physics simulation package. CHRONO is made up of a collection of loosely coupled components that facilitate different aspects of multi-physics modeling, simulation, and visualization. This contribution provides an overview of CHRONO::Engine, CHRONO::Flex, CHRONO::Fluid, and CHRONO::Render, which are modules that can capitalize on the processing power of hundreds of parallel processors. Problems that can be tackled in CHRONO include but are not limited to granular material dynamics, tangled large flexible structures with self contact, particulate flows, and tracked vehicle mobility. The paper presents an overview of each of these modules and illustrates through several examples the potential of this multi-physics library.

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