Algorithmic aspects and computing trends in computational electromagnetics using massively parallel architectures

Abstract

Accurate and rapid evaluation of radar signature for alternative aircraft/store configurations would be of substantial benefit in the evolution of integrated designs that meet radar cross section requirements across the threat spectrum. Finite-volume time domain methods offer the possibility of modeling the whole aircraft, including penetrable regions and stores, at longer wavelengths on today's supercomputers and at typical airborne radar wavelengths on the massively parallel teraflop computers of tomorrow. To realize this potential, practical means are being developed for the rapid generation of grids on and around the aircraft, and numerical algorithms that maintain high order accuracy on such grids are being constructed. A structured grid and an unstructured grid based finite-volume, time-domain Maxwell's equation solver has been developed incorporating modeling techniques for general radar absorbing materials. Using this work as a base, the goal of the computational electromagnetics effort is to define, implement, and evaluate rapid prototype signature prediction, addressing many issues related to (1) physics of electromagnetics, (2) efficient and higher-order accurate algorithms, (3) boundary condition procedures, (4) geometry and gridding (structured and unstructured), (5) computer architecture, and (6) validation.<>