Evaluation of the Imbalance Evolution in Parallel Reservoir Simulation

Load balancing is a crucial factor affecting the performance of parallel applications. Improper work distribution leads to underutilization of computing resources and an unnecessary increase in runtime. This paper identifies the imbalance sources in reservoir simulation and characterizes them as static or dynamic. Simulation model properties that change over time, such as well management actions, are registered and correlated with performance characteristics hence identifying sources of imbalance. The results are exploratory and used to validate the current approach of static grid-to-process, and well-to-process assignment widely used in commercial parallel reservoir simulators. Areas in which implementing dynamic load balancing would be worthwhile are identified.