Experiences from Software Engineering of Large Scale AMR Multiphysics Code Frameworks

• Main Authors: Anshu Dubey, Brian Van Straalen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ubiquity Press 2014-07-01
• Series: Journal of Open Research Software
• Subjects: structured AMR, frameworks, experience
• Online Access: http://openresearchsoftware.metajnl.com/articles/33

Many research problems are being pursued through simulations that require multi-physics capabilities in codes, that are also able to run on HPC platforms. Multiphysics implies many solvers with divergent, and sometimes conflicting, demands on the software infrastructure. Additionally many multiphysics simulation codes make use of structured adaptive mesh refinement to achieve maximum resolution where needed within resource constraints, which places even more demands on software infrastructure. The software architecture and process for these codes, therefore, is a challenging task. In this experience report we detail the challenges faced, design choices made, and insights from two such major software efforts, FLASH and Chombo.