Multi-scale and Multi-physics Applications — User Requirements for Future Applications

Abstract

Multi-scale and multi-physics simulations have been upcoming for the past years in different application scenarios from various scientific areas. Typically they result in coupled applications where different modules are — tightly or loosely — coupled to solve a problem that is closer to reality than a single-scale or single-physics application. To run these coupled simulations, several requirements are imposed upon the system, ranging from availability of coupling tools as well as management features like co- or conditional scheduling. This holds especially true when trying to map the different modules of a simulation to different hardware architectures, i.e. to a hybrid hardware environment. The reason for doing that is that a one-size-fits-all approach with forcing every module to the same machine might restrict the possible simulations too much. This is particularly the case if one of the modules is available on a distinct machine only — typically commercial codes with restricted licenses and availability.